Reflect & Connect | Surah Fussilat - Ep.07 - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 10/21

Reflect & Connect | Surah Fussilat — Episode 7

Respected, honorable brothers and sisters, dear listeners, dear students. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Once again, I'm very thankful for Mawlana Ahsan for covering for me last week. JazakAllah khair wa ahsan wa khairul jazaa for taking the time out and driving all the way out here and giving the beautiful dars of tafsir. I ask Allah azza wa jal to increase him in his ilm, in his amal, and allow thousands to benefit from him. Ameen.

So we will continue from where he left off. He actually added a lot more details to the previous ayat that I've spoken about. So we're kind of back to where we were.

The Ayah: Who Has a Better Word?

This is a very well-known and powerful ayah. Allah azza wa jal asks:

Who is of a fairer word than he who calls to Allah and does righteous deeds, and says, "Indeed I am of those who are Muslims, in willing submission to Allah alone." For not equal are the good deeds and the evil deeds. So repel their evil doing with that which is best in the sight of Allah. Then behold, the one who had enmity for you — and for whom you had enmity — may become like a most intimate friend. Yet none shall attain this but those who are patient in suffering. And none shall attain this but one endowed with a magnificent share of goodness.

These are beautiful verses. Much needs to be shared on this. I ask Allah azza wa jal, through the ikhlas of all of you, that He allows us to share those things which are most beneficial and most relevant to all of us. And we ask Allah azza wa jal that from His treasures, He grants us knowledge, and grants us patience, and grants us wisdom. We ask Allah azza wa jal that whatever we share, and whatever we hear, that He allows us to be the number one practitioners of it. And that He allows us all to become amongst those who propagate it to others. And we ask Allah azza wa jal that whatever khair is happening within the circle here, that He allows the benefit of it to be felt in all continents of the globe.

The Nature of a True Believer

In this verse, Allah azza wa jal, after mentioning the previous nations — all of their mistakes, their sins, how they got punished and so forth — Allah jalla jalaluhu is now mentioning how the righteous people act. The righteous people, the people of iman, are such that they have an intrinsic quality within them. And that quality is that they love for others what good they love for themselves. This is part of the fitrah of a mu'min.

You have to love for everyone what you love for yourself. You cannot be a true believer if you're selfish. It doesn't work like that. Stinginess, selfishness — this doesn't go hand in hand with Islam. Islam and iman, when they enter a person's heart, he inherently desires that whatever good he has, everyone else should get that good too. And this is why Nabi ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 72)

"None of you can be a true believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."

A spot in a gathering, a certain dish from the buffet, something simple like that. A spot in a house somewhere, housing you want to buy somewhere. Anything — small or large — a true believer will always wish for others what he loves for himself. He's not going to say, "I wish others suffer, I wish others don't get this."

And there is nothing greater for us, no greater gift, than Jannah. No greater gift than Allah's pleasure. No greater gift than being safe from the fire of Jahannam. And so a believer just cannot sit there and watch people going to hell. He just can't. It doesn't befit his status. So this fitrah and nature of a Muslim forces him to try to spread the goodness. He's always trying to see how he can connect people with Allah.

The Condition of the Ummah — Gaza, Sudan, and Beyond

My beloved brothers and sisters, if you're reading what's happening in Gaza — which you should be — there's an article about how some IDF soldiers have come back and committed suicide. The article was titled, They Left Gaza But Gaza Did Not Leave Them. It spoke about the post-traumatic disorders, the PTSD, they're going through after what happened in Gaza.

Those people, before they died, could no longer eat meat. Because of the amount of bodies they ran over — of alive people, living and dead — bodies they crushed with their bulldozers. The article explicitly mentions that it did not allow them to ever look at meat the same way. They would start getting flashbacks. This is the condition of the zalim — he himself is suffering PTSD. You want to think what about the mazloom? The one who is oppressed.

I saw a clip from May. May was a long time ago — so much more has happened since then. There was an orthopedic surgeon who has gone on 30 years of different humanitarian missions, a non-Muslim. Ground zero, places where terrorist attacks have happened, war-torn areas, civil war, catastrophes of all sorts, natural disasters. He says he's been going for 30 years. In his short interview, he said all of them combined together cannot equal the atrocities, and what he saw within the first few days of Gaza. The amount of shredded children's bodies. The interviewer asked, "Did you say shredded?" He said, "Yes. Shredded." Sniper bullets in the heart. He said, "I couldn't even put a stethoscope to the heart — the heart is blown up." Sniper bullets? In a child's heart? He said, "Yes, absolutely."

How can a person — a non-Muslim cannot handle it? I think anyone in this whole discussion who is confused about who is zalim and who is mazloom is simply because they have never been there. If a person goes there just to see what's happened, within 30 minutes you'll know who is zalim and who is mazloom. How can a person's heart not shake? How can you just have a normal sip of coffee as you read through these articles, see these clips? How can a heart not bleed?

The other day after Jumu'ah, an uncle came to me — he was just in tears. He said, "Five times a day — including tahajjud, six times a day — my heart pours out in a cry. Why can't we do something?" And he was for ten minutes holding my hand and pouring his heart out. And I said, "Uncle, this is a beautiful sign that Allah has given you a heart that is still alive." Because thousands have just given up. Thousands have just forgotten. The fact that you are still, alhamdulillah, a year in, crying six times a day — that's a beautiful sign. And don't think that's going unnoticed. You've got something to show to Allah. What about the vast majority of people who've got nothing much to show to Allah?

When I was in Amman recently, they showed me the entire storage place where all the aid going to Gaza first comes through, and from there through trucks — anything coming through Jordan. They told me weeks have gone by, no trucks are allowed. They told me 11 trucks of rice — donated from Pakistan — unfortunately, the brother said, "I just got a call from the officer there, everything has to be thrown away because insects got in." 11 trucks worth of rice had to be disposed of, just sitting in storage.

And then while we were there, that same week — maybe three days before I arrived — the brother working for Helping Hand in Gaza, a local man on the ground, one after another: his wife was targeted, his children were targeted, his mother was targeted, and eventually while we were there, he himself was targeted and became shaheed. The Helping Hand brother working in Gaza.

When we see all of this — our help can't even go there, our food can't even reach there, our money is not even getting there — what are you going to do? At the very least we have to shed some tears. If we're not doing that, then how are we going to show our face to Allah? How are we going to show our face to the Prophet ﷺ? How are we going to face these thousands and thousands of innocent children on the Day of Judgment, who may hold you and me accountable? "What did you do? You boycotted certain products — okay, that's good. But beyond that, what?"

My dear friends, du'a is so important. And while we're crying and pouring our hearts in front of Allah, this has to be done by every one of us — the young and the old. Everyone has to do this. And sometimes you don't feel like it, then I encourage you to look at a few photographs, read through some articles to get you into the mood. Because if you keep saying, "I can't read that, I can't watch that," then what happens? You watch Netflix, YouTube, shorts, reels. We can watch all that — but we say we get depressed watching this. Well, it doesn't seem like you're in depression when you're binge-watching other things. This is also shaitan's deception. Watch for 30 seconds, one minute — to get yourself moved — then put your phone away, raise your hands, and make du'a to Allah azza wa jal. Your job and my job is at least to show Allah azza wa jal that we're alive, that we have a beating heart.

And the reason I began this whole introduction is: how can it be for a Muslim — if he were to see cats and dogs being killed like this — wallahi, if he were to see cats and dogs being killed, he cannot be a Muslim and just say, "Oh, it's not my problem." We know the hadith of Nabi ﷺ about a woman who entered Jahannam because she tortured a cat — one cat. She did not give it food and didn't unlock the gate for it to go hunt on its own. And the Prophet ﷺ clearly mentioned she was not a bad lady in general — she used to pray and she was a worshipping lady, an abid. She did ibadah. But because of killing one cat, the Prophet ﷺ said she would go to hell.

And on the other hand, you all know the hadith of a lady who led a loose life, who was not righteous at all. But there was a dog that looked at her, thirsty for water. So she put her leather shoe down into the well, pulled up water, and gave it to the dog. And the Prophet ﷺ said she would enter Jannah because of that action. Yes, in these cases, they were mu'mineen — if there is no iman, that is not the case. But she was a Muslim with weak points, yet one good point — that her heart went out for a dog. And the other was a Muslimah, but she had no heart, and she killed a cat. The Prophet ﷺ said she would go to Jahannam initially, until Allah wills to forgive her.

This is a very serious thing. As a believer, we cannot accept animal torture. The Prophet ﷺ once went to relieve himself during a journey, came back, and saw a bird circling around. He asked, "What happened?" Someone had taken the chicks away from their nest. The mother bird was circling, worried. The Prophet ﷺ got upset and rebuked his Sahaba: "Who hurt this mother regarding her children?" This is our deen. We cannot accept pain for anyone — not even an animal.

The Prophet ﷺ said, when you are speaking to each other, get off your camels. Don't talk while sitting on your camels. Why make the poor camel bear the burden of your weight while you have a chat? Get off so it can relax. The Prophet ﷺ has spoken enormously about animal rights. But my point is: so much concern has been shown for animals — what then about non-Muslims? What about little children? And what about Muslims? The level of concern we're supposed to have for believing Muslims is supposed to be immense. Not just Palestine, but across the world — wherever people are suffering, our heart needs to go out.

Another area not getting nearly enough attention, and where a humongous and horrific crisis is happening, is Sudan. Two weeks ago I read that 100 people per day are dying of starvation. And dying of starvation is by far the worst way to die — much worse than a drone attack, a bomb attack, nerve gas, anything else. It is a slow, painful, 30-to-60-day death. 100 people per day. Astaghfirullah al-'Azim. We know some of the players involved behind the scenes. I don't understand what kind of heart people have.

The Shuhada Are Not Dead

My brothers, every one of us knows — alhamdulillah, thumma alhamdulillah — we believe:

"Don't ever think that those who have been killed in Allah's path are dead." Allah says they are not dead. It is not 45,000 or 100,000 or 200,000 dead. بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ — Rather, they are alive. عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ — They are being provided sustenance by their Lord. عِندَ is such a beautiful word — near their Lord. You thought they were close to Allah before? Just watch where they are now — far beyond where they were in this dunya. And they are being provided sustenance. فَرِحِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ — They are happy, excited with what Allah has given them from His grace. وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِهِم مِّنْ خَلْفِهِمْ — And they eagerly await those of their family who have not yet joined them. They are waiting excitedly — hoping that Baba joins them, Ammi joins them, Grandpa joins them, their grandson joins them. أَلَّا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ — They have nothing to fear about the past or the future, and nothing to grieve about."

That is what we call a shaheed. We believe all of these are shuhada, all martyrs. So no matter how painful a death may have come upon them, alhamdulillah we can say with certainty that the place where they are now is far, far, far better than the most exclusive private islands, the most exclusive penthouses, the most exclusive hotels and vacation spots of the world. These young and old men and women are enjoying the likes of which no king has ever seen in this dunya.

The Crisis of People Leaving Islam

My dear friends, on the other hand, there are so many nice non-Muslims around us — maybe your friends from school, from college, your co-workers, and the list goes on. All of these people, if any of them pass away without iman, if anyone passes away without Islam, then my friends, we know what the ending of that is.

In the hellfire, to remain there forever. May Allah protect us all. So a Muslim cannot just sit back and watch as he sees people going towards the hellfire. His concern is always: how can those who are Muslim become stronger Muslims? And those who do not have iman — how can they get iman?

Just today one of the students told me — he was very perturbed. He messaged me. He said a brother who is very close to him accepted Islam a year ago. He said, "Just today he texted me: 'Brother, I'm leaving Islam.'" He said, "I watched a bunch of YouTube videos — I don't think Islam is true, I think Christianity is true." So this brother came to me very, very perturbed. And this is how it should be. The concern we should have for anyone leaving Islam should genuinely concern us immensely.

Anytime you hear about someone — this guy became atheist, that one became an ex-Muslim — these should no longer be statistics. They should be a cause for concern. How many of us corporate people here know people within our own floor who refuse to identify themselves as Muslim anymore? Their name is Muhammad, their name is Imran, their name is Aisha, their name is Fatima. But they have nothing to do with Islam. They will be the most vocal people on LGBTQ+ issues, on transgender issues. When it comes to Jumu'ah or anything about Islam — khalas, they're out. Many of them will openly say, "I don't identify as a Muslim anymore." Now, is that just a statistic? Or should you feel pain about that?

My beloved brothers and sisters — how many of you have actually shed tears for those you know who have left Islam? How many of us have said, "I can't believe it — from my 12th grade class, so many of them have just left the deen." That is a big problem. If a person leaves Islam and dies on kufr, then the pain that's going to come is just unbelievable.

That is why Nabi ﷺ, when he saw one boy who was about to pass away, went and gave him talqeen — to try to get him to say the kalimah. He couldn't say the kalimah. The Prophet ﷺ asked, "Is his mother alive?" He was told yes. He rushed to the mother and asked her to forgive her son. She refused. So the Prophet ﷺ ordered the Sahaba to bring firewood and start a huge fire, and told them to bring the boy to be thrown in. The mother, seeing her son about to be dragged to the fire, screamed, "No, stop!" — and the Prophet ﷺ said to her: "You are worried about this fire? If you do not forgive him, he will be entering a much, much larger fire in the akhirah. You couldn't take this fire — how will you handle your son going to the fire of the akhirah?"

The type of decisions we make today is often because we don't understand what the fire of the akhirah is. If we knew, we would not be making a lot of the foolish decisions we make today. Haram — how long does that enjoyment last? 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute. That's it. But the punishment in the akhirah is forever. Is it worth it? It's not worth it. But people don't know what the akhirah is. If only they knew what naar of Jahannam is, they would never do that.

Amr bil Ma'ruf wa Nahy 'anil Munkar — An Obligation on All

My dear friends, let me make it very clear. The obligation of speaking the truth, of inviting people towards the truth, of encouraging people towards goodness, of forbidding people from evil — this is an obligation not only on ulama. This is an obligation upon all of us. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 84)

"Whoever from amongst you has seen something wrong, he needs to change it with his hands. If he is not able to do so, then with his tongue. And if he is not able to do that, then at least through his heart — and that is the weakest form of iman."

He didn't say "O ulama" — he said "whoever from amongst you." So if a person goes to a place where sin is happening — there's music, there's mixing of young men and women, people dressed inappropriately, doing all kinds of haram things — and a person cannot speak, he cannot take them by the hand and lead them out, then at the very least he has to feel bad about it in his heart and make du'a. But if he says in his heart, "it's a free world, do whatever you like" — then that means he has gone below the lowest level of iman. Because the hadith says the lowest level of iman is that you at least feel guilty. When we hear about wrong things happening across the globe, we have to feel guilty about it.

And this is not the wazifah and responsibility of ulama alone — that's what I'm trying to say. When it comes to nahy 'anil munkar, it is not always easy for non-scholars to prohibit people from haram. They might say, "What's the proof?" So if there's something you know properly and can explain, okay. But honestly — do you think people don't know what they're doing is wrong? They know it's wrong. They need a reminder. That's the issue. They need a reminder. And now, since we have gotten so accustomed to staying quiet — none of my business — people are becoming emboldened.

A sister emailed me. She said she recently attended a wedding. She entered and was shocked — there was mixed seating, music playing, boys and girls all together — a very un-Islamic wedding. And she said she was shocked because these are people who, mashallah, have memorized the Qur'an and studied ilm beyond that. She never expected it to be like this. So she closed the banquet hall door, went back to her car, and left. Alhamdulillah — that's the right thing she should have done. She said she got in trouble, they were so upset. But imagine how our community would become if we had a hundred people like this. A hundred people who say: I drove 50 miles for this wedding, but when I saw what I saw, I left. And if you're upset about it — imagine how upset Allah and His Messenger ﷺ are about what you're doing.

When we accept these types of things, we become enablers. We start presenting sin as if it's not an issue. How many events do we attend where there's no arrangement for Salatul Maghrib, Salatul Isha? You have a thousand Muslims at a wedding, and if no arrangement for salah is made — someone has got to say something. And the list can go on and on. But my point is, we are enabling people to create a society where sin becomes rampant — when we do not speak up. This is the wazifah of this ummah.

Since Rasulullah ﷺ is the last prophet, Allah has created a self-rectification system. There will never be a time when the entire ummah is all on the wrong path. Why? Because there will always be certain people standing up and speaking the truth. And because of them, a sense of conscientiousness and righteousness will remain. Allah Azza wa Jal says:

There should be amongst you a group who invites towards good, commands towards righteousness, and prohibits from evil. Allah Azza wa Jal wants an entire ummah — not just a specific group. And then Rasulullah ﷺ is told to declare:

"Say: This is my way of life. I invite towards Allah — I invite Muslims towards Allah, I invite non-Muslims towards Allah, I invite everyone towards Allah — with wisdom and foresight. I do this, and anyone who follows my footsteps."

I want us to understand, my beloved friends, that this is part of our identity. Anything — you learn one beneficial hadith from the khutbah of today, and you become a da'i. Go home, talk to your spouse about it. Talk to your kids about it. You listen to something in the tafsir, take some notes. On the way home, send a few voice notes to a few people. Next day, type it out and share it on your status. Create a mentality that whatever we take in, we're going to spread it.

The Ecosystem of Sin — One Bad Apple

If we do not stop people, my dear friends, we are all part of one ecosystem. One bad apple ruins it all — that's what happens in your fridge. Similarly, when you have one person who is sinning, look at what one smoker does to the whole environment. He's killing his own lungs. But he's also killing all of us with his secondhand smoke, creating a horrible smell in the entire room. Just by sitting with a smoker, you're now put in a position where you have to defend yourself. That is the nuhusah and the evilness of sitting with someone committing this act.

When your neighbor's house is on fire and you say, "Let me go to sleep, insha'Allah we'll see how the fire is going after Fajr" — you're a fool, right? Don't you agree? If the neighbor's house is on fire, full fledged, what are the chances of that fire jumping to your house? Similarly: when your own nephews and nieces are not following the deen, it's going to come into your own children's lives. Your cousins are not following the deen, it may come into your siblings' lives. Your neighbor's kids are not following the deen, it may come into your own kid's life.

And so, Allah Azza wa Jal says in the Qur'an:

Allah Azza wa Jal will not ever destroy a nation oppressively, on the condition that the people who live in that village are muslihoon — from the word islah, which means rectification. As long as the people of that village are rectifying one another, Allah will not destroy them — even if sin is happening there — because at least they are trying to speak up and correct what's going on.

And on the other hand, there is a hadith where one of the Prophet's ﷺ wives asked him:

"Will we be destroyed if we have righteous people amongst us?" And the Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes — when evil becomes predominant." So the presence of pious people alone will not stop Allah's punishment. Only the presence of people who try to spread goodness and stop evil will stop Allah's punishment. Straight from the Qur'an and hadith.

The presence of pious people who just do their own pious things — their tasbih, their dhikr, their salah — is not enough. Look at how many dads never miss Fajr in the masjid, while their children don't pray a single salah. They don't miss one Fajr in the masjid while their kids don't pray one salah at home. And they say, "He's too old now." Well, whose problem is that going to be? You cannot just sit back. Those who are sitting there crying for their kids — I'm not speaking about them. But those parents who are mistaken in thinking that their salah is going to suffice for their kids — it doesn't work like that. Every man has to take care of his own grave.

A Grave Warning: Killed First Despite Never Disobeying Allah

Nabi ﷺ was asked about a group of people, a nation. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned that Allah ordered one of the angels to go and destroy an entire nation because they had committed too many sins. The angels came back to Allah and said: "Ya Allah, there is a man there — لَمْ يَعْصِكَ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ — who did not disobey You for a blink of an eye." The hadith mentions that Allah told His angels:

(Reported by al-Bazzar; referenced in Musnad Ahmad and similar collections)

"Flip it on him first, and then on the rest." Flip his house on top of him first, and then destroy the rest — kill him first. Why? Because he witnessed My disobedience, yet he did not even frown once out of anger. He did not even show his displeasure with My disobedience.

My brothers, this is deep. Allah told His angels to kill him first. None of us even know a man we can say never disobeyed Allah for a blink of an eye — this person was at some next level, some ma'sum and mahfuz person. But subhanAllah, it did not help him. Allah said, kill him first, destroy him first. Because how can he just watch My disobedience and not do anything about it?

That's something very weighty for all of us to think about — when we ourselves are the biggest of sinners. On top of all our own sins, we do not mind people speaking about the sins they've committed in front of us. People say, "I did this, I did that." How many of us hear people bragging about how they sinned last night and yesterday and on vacation? Astaghfirullah al-'Azim. How many of us are shown pictures — "Hey, watch my gallery, I did this, this, this" — and we just say, "Oh cool, that sounds cool"? Imagine how that's going to get recorded with Allah. We are the biggest of sinners. But maybe none of our sins are as great as this — that we watch people committing sin and we don't feel pain in our heart. Instead, we might give them a smile, a thumbs up, a heart on WhatsApp. A'udhu billahi min al-shaytan al-rajim.

When our conscientiousness for the deen of Allah, our concern for the deen of Allah, is dead. As I mentioned the other night: Allah Azza wa Jal's loyalty is with His deen. Allah loves Islam more than He loves Muslims — let me say it this way: Allah loves Islam more than He likes so-called Muslims. Just because you claim to be a Muslim does not mean you're going to get Allah's love. Allah loves the principles of iman more than anything else. And so our ulama say: we have some people crying for Muslims, but very few people crying for Islam. When we don't have enough people crying for Islam and iman, do not expect the help of Allah Azza wa Jal to come.

Da'wah and the Warning of Unanswered Du'a

The Prophet ﷺ mentioned a hadith — and he swore by Allah with his most solemn oath:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2169; graded Hasan)

"By the One in Whose hand is my soul — you will definitely command towards virtue and you will definitely prohibit from evil, or else Allah may very soon send upon you a punishment from Himself. Then you will begin to supplicate to Him and your du'a will not be accepted."

The Prophet ﷺ mentioned in other ahadith that when you stop inviting towards good, Allah will send upon you tyrant rulers. And those tyrant rulers will have no mercy on your women, no mercy on your children, no mercy on any of you. And then at that time, the Prophet ﷺ mentioned: ثُمَّ تَسْتَنْصِرُونَهُ فَلَا يَنْصُرَكُمْ — You will beg Allah's help and He will not help you. You will ask from Him and He will not give you. You will make du'a to Him and He will not respond. Exactly the situation we find ourselves in today. Honestly.

When we were in Amman, I asked the people there — because one of the shocking parts was that we were just 45 minutes to an hour away from Aqsa, and yet life seemed completely casual, completely normal. So I asked some of the scholars there: "Has anything changed since this past year?" They said no. Those who are connected to the deen are connected, and those who are not are still in their own dunya. Yes, in their hearts they feel pain. Yes, they watch Al-Jazeera quite a bit. But has that translated into amal? Have they started performing more salah in the masjid, attending more halaqat, cutting down some of the haram? That you don't see.

We are so blessed to have — for those who don't know — a group of brothers all the way from Palestine who flew in. Mashallah, they came about three weeks ago and were at Dar al-Salam for two days. It was amazing to meet these young brothers. And one of the things they mentioned, which many people don't understand the depth of, is: "SubhanAllah, along with financial and medical help, there is a huge need of da'wah. We need 100% of the population to become musalleen — people who pray. We need 100% of the population to come onto truthfulness in business, to adopt hijab, to have the akhlaq of Rasulullah ﷺ. We need medical, financial, and food help. But we also need a revival of Islam."

Can you imagine, my beloved brothers — in the midst of active fighting, where you are shielding yourself from swords and spears and arrows — you are not allowed to miss your prayer. Yes? The Prophet ﷺ said the sunnah of Fajr is so important that even if there is a fear of being trampled by horses, don't miss it. Meaning: in the thick of the battlefield, don't miss the sunnah of Fajr. You know in the fifth juz, in Surah an-Nisa, Allah talks about how to perform Salatul Jama'ah in the thick of battle? How one group prays a rak'ah and then goes to fight, and the other half comes and prays a rak'ah? Because they want to pray Salatul Jama'ah behind the Prophet ﷺ and no one can replace him. They found a way. So how are we going to get the help of Allah if people are not praying — whether in America or in Palestine or anywhere?

The sad part is we're getting whipped horribly. But a major chunk of the ummah still doesn't understand that this whipping is not going to stop until we repent towards Allah. Every other solution is a band-aid — and the band-aid is too small for the wound. The wound is way too huge and the band-aid is the size of a needle. If we want to stop the bleeding, go to the crux of the issue. Get the ummah back onto salah. Get the ummah away from haram. Get the ummah back onto zakah. Get the ummah back onto husn al-mu'amala — good dealings. Back onto speaking the truth. Then you will see Allah Azza wa Jal's help come. But unfortunately this is not happening at the degree it must.

We can no longer stay silent. Because our silence on the matters of deen is in reality bringing Allah's punishment upon the entire ummah. How are you going to face Allah and say, "Ya Allah, I didn't do amar bil ma'ruf, I didn't do nahy 'anil munkar" — knowing that because of your own silence, you could be one of the million reasons Allah Azza wa Jal is not bringing His help?

All of you know the book Fada'il A'mal by Shaykh Zakariyyah rahmatullahi alayh. Go read the section on Fada'il Da'wa wa Tabligh — 40 ahadith on the importance of da'wah. Just go through those ahadith, and you will see how many of them are directly tied with the arrival of tyrant rulers. When we stop inviting towards good and forbidding from evil, Allah sends down tyrants. And then those ahadith mention: when you beg Allah for His help, Allah will not help you. These hadith are exactly depicting what is going on right now in the world.

Da'wah Begins at Home

So what should I do now? We have to start from home. Charity starts at home. Right now, we have to start working on one member at a time in our own family. Many people want to give da'wah outside. They want to start non-profits, start this thing and that thing. But there is no deen in the home. Before you conquer the world, conquer your house. Yes, you can work both — but do not allow shaitan to deceive you into thinking you're doing a lot of outside work while neglecting the inner core work. The inner core work is your mom and dad, your spouse, your kids, your grandkids, your nephews, your nieces, your siblings. This is where the work has to happen.

And brothers, da'wah is number one through our own actions. If we start coming to the masjid but then have horrible character with those around us, that is a huge turn-off from the deen. A lot of people who left the deen did so because they had a bad experience with someone who used to go to the masjid, or someone who dressed in an Islamic manner, or someone who acted as if they were knowledgeable — and then cheated them, lied to them, did something horrible. That ended up becoming a very big problem.

There is an organization in this country that tracks and promotes Muslims leaving Islam. They have an annual report of all the people who left Islam — their backgrounds, everything. I was speaking about this in one small town in Arizona, and a brother in the gathering raised his hand and said, "Sheikh, I know the founder of that organization. He was my classmate from Karachi." And he said: whatever you're speaking about is exactly what happened with this brother. His mom and dad had a nasty divorce. One parent was apparently very religious, and the other was not. He got caught in that war. He ended up on the side of the irreligious one, which fueled hatred for the religious parent — so much so that it became the fuel for founding this organization here in America, which to this day encourages and pushes people to leave Islam through billboards, ads, and all sorts of means.

This is something all of our parents need to realize, and our youngsters need to realize. When you push religion down someone's throat, it can have horrible results. When we look like a Muslim and act like a Muslim on the outside, but don't treat our children properly — that can have horrible results. We've seen so many friends from childhood who completely left Islam, completely left the deen, and their dads were the strictest — gotta do this, gotta do that. It completely failed. So da'wah is not being the "haram police." That's not your job. You are a guardian angel. That's what da'wah is. You came to hug someone and save them from falling into a pit of fire. You're not a policeman.

This is the Prophet's ﷺ own example. He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6483; Sahih Muslim, Book 43, Hadith 2284)

"My example and your example is like a person who lit a fire. The fireflies and moths are attracted to the light, and they are all coming and falling into it. This is your example and my example — there is a fire of Jahannam, and all of you are running towards it. And I am grabbing you by your waist — trying to stop you from falling into the fire. But unfortunately, you are breaking through my arm lock and still falling into it."

He said: إِنِّي أَرَى مَا لَا تَرَوْنَ وَأَسْمَعُ مَا لَا تَسْمَعُونَ — "Indeed I see what you don't see. Indeed I hear what you don't hear. You don't know what Jahannam is. Don't mess with this. I'm trying to stop you, but you don't listen — you break through my hold and jump in anyway." So this is what you and I are supposed to be doing. We are supposed to be those beautiful guardian angels who are grabbing people from the side as they are about to fall into a fire. Alhamdulillah — saved.

So when that becomes your temperament, your way of dealing, you will become the most beloved person. If someone is calling you the haram police, more than likely the way you are giving da'wah is wrong. Instead, people should say, "Mashallah, this guy — he's looking out for our backs. He's always so caring. If there's anyone I need to make du'a for in the night, it's him. Because he's always thinking about me. He messages me randomly: 'I'm making du'a for you, let's go to this program.'" That's what we need. The whole perception of da'wah is messed up. People think da'wah is saying هَذَا حَلَالٌ، هَذَا حَرَامٌ. No. Your job is to have genuine compassion in your heart for everyone and let that compassion show on your face.

The Story of Mawlana Ilyas and the Mewati Farmers

Mawlana Ilyas rahmatullahi alayh — the reviver of the effort of da'wah and tabligh — was a very academic person. His Urdu was so deep and classical. I've read his statements, his malfoozat, and honestly I have to read them four or five times to understand what he's saying. One day he was giving a bayan to the Mewati villagers — farmers who were not literate at all. Mawlana Abul Hasan Ali al-Nadawi and Mawlana Manzoor al-Numani — two great top-notch ulama who were young at the time — were sitting in this lecture. They were appreciating the depth of Mawlana Ilyas, because it takes a scholar to understand a scholar.

At the end, Mawlana Ilyas finished his bayan and asked: "Who is ready to go out in khuruj?" And all the Mewati farmers stood up. These two ulama looked at each other and asked the farmers: "Did you even understand what he just said?" They said: "No. We didn't understand anything." Then why are you standing up? And they gave a remarkable answer: "We are afraid that if we don't stand up, this poor man who loves us will die of sadness." — gham se mar jaye — "We don't know what he's saying, but he said it with such passion and such concern for us, that whatever he wants us to do, we're ready to do it. Because he's a lovable man. He cares for us, and that's all."

That's what you call da'wah. That's why it's said that da'wah doesn't require a language. Mawlana Ilyas rahmatullahi alayh, it is mentioned, had a very bad speech impediment. At one large ijtema, he stuttered on the same word — not once, not twice, but seventeen times. He was not the most eloquent. He was very skinny and frail. But he had something in his heart — may Allah give us that. Say Ameen. A genuine, selfless concern that everyone should be saved from Jahannam. That is something Allah had gifted him. And I beg Allah that He gifts all of us this too — our spouses, our children, our parents, our siblings.

Don't say you need to be a scholar. You don't need to be eloquent. You don't need to take public speaking courses. Whatever resources you have, you will be able to utilize them to bring change. I usually give the example of an apartment building that's on fire. You do not need to speak the language of the people inside. Just your expression, your yelling and screaming, your facial expressions — that's more than sufficient for people to understand they need to run out. Similarly, if you care about the ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ and you are worried about the fire of Jahannam, you will be able to impress this upon people. And they will say, "Brother, just to make you stop crying, just to make you happy, I will stop this sin."

When was the last time you went to a guy involved in drugs, in drinking, in sin, in riba, and sat with him and cried the way a baby cries and said: "Brother, I love you for the sake of Allah, please stop this"? No wonder change doesn't happen. When was the last time we went and begged someone who doesn't pray in the masjid: "For Allah's sake please — I'll come to your store, we'll pray together. I'll come pick you up." Once you start showing this passion, I swear hearts will change.

This beautiful group of brothers and sisters listening to me right now — please make this intention. At least start making du'a. We might not be at that level yet. Even the madrasa students — we're gaining knowledge, knowledge, knowledge. But if you don't care for the ummah, you're going to be of no benefit. We don't need clock-in, clock-out type of people. We need people who love the ummah the way they love their children. Just as I can't have my son go to hell, I cannot have any child of the ummah go to hell. Just as I can't have my wife go to hell, I cannot have any woman of the community go to hell.

How many of you go hang out with friends — your own wife is wearing hijab, but your friend's wife does not? How many of you have ever said: "Ya akhi, how about I bring my wife over, or you bring your wife over to my house — maybe she can take her to some halaqah, and she can start wearing the hijab." Who does that? And then there will be people who are connected to scholars their whole lives, but not once has anyone said to them: "Brother, I'm worried about your wife not wearing hijab." What kind of friends are those? What use are friends who get served tea and biscuits by your wife — while she's not wearing hijab — and not one of them ever said: "Ya akhi, you know I love you for the sake of Allah and I love your hospitality, but we have to change this."

Your own son mashallah is finishing hifz al-Qur'an. But the guy you go out camping with — his son doesn't even know the Qa'ida Nuraniyyah and he's 14 years old. We cannot just have friendship over sports. We have to worry about that. You're playing basketball together — worry about your friend's spouse and their kids. Worry about your own siblings' spouses and kids. Like that.

Repelling Evil With Good — The Power of This Ayah

What does Allah tell us? Can there be any speech better? Allah is asking the question — and the answer is of course not. There is no one with a better speech than the one who is inviting towards Allah. But do I invite towards Allah and then lead my own life as I please? Absolutely not. If you are inviting towards Allah, you also need to start following along those lines.

Now, this does not mean — Allah forbid — a man who is addicted to smoking should not stop someone else from starting. The fact that you've been smoking 20 years is all the more reason to stop this new person from starting. Are you proud of being a smoker? No. But I'm going to try to stop him, and I'm hoping I can cut this horrible habit I have too. Do not stop inviting towards good and forbidding from evil just because you are also involved in that. As long as you want to get rid of that sin, continue to invite people to leave it. The more you invite people to leave that sin, the more Allah will strengthen you and give you the ability to leave it yourself.

Mawlana Shafee' Uthmani rahmatullahi alayh would say: whenever I choose a topic for the Friday khutbah or any other gathering, I would look into my own self to see what I need to work on that week — and use that as a topic. I would prepare it and speak. SubhanAllah. Not: what does the crowd want to hear? What is going to get the loudest applause? No. What do I need? He would work on that.

The Third Point: Pride in Your Identity as a Muslim

Number three, from the ayah: وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ — and after all of this, you are super proud of your identity. "I am a Muslim." There are two things here. One: إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ — I am not someone super special just because I'm inviting towards Allah. I'm not from a special class of people. I am just one of the millions of Muslims. What does that speak of? Humility. Do not allow this da'wah mentality to get to your head. By inviting towards goodness, that does not make you in any way superior to anyone.

And number two: why are you inviting people? Why are you doing humanitarian work, doing anything? There has to be ikhlas — sincerity. "Muslim" means I'm doing whatever I'm doing only for Allah. My dear friends, if any work we're doing — including the best and most powerful da'wah work — is for name, for fame, for money, for likes — it will become the biggest burden for us. Just today in class we were reading in Adab al-Muta'allimin that there is a valley in Jahannam that Jahannam itself seeks protection from 400 times a day. And the Prophet ﷺ said this is reserved for those who recite the Qur'an for some reason besides pleasing Allah. This is how much Allah hates when actions are done in public for any reason besides pleasing Him. May Allah grant us ikhlas.

Expect Pushback — And Respond With Patience

When you go to give da'wah, naturally people are not going to like it. Did Nabi ﷺ speak with wisdom? Of course he did — the most wisdom. But yet people did not like it. Anytime you stand up to invite people towards goodness, you will get pushback. Especially in nahy 'anil munkar. Sometimes people come to the dars and say, "Sheikh, this is too harsh for us." Because people are not used to hearing that there's something wrong they're doing. Nowadays the culture is: shabash, good job, keep it up, great, round of applause. But to say to someone, "You need to improve on this one thing" — no one wants to do that. And so when speaking the truth is slowly pushed out of society, anyone who speaks it seems too harsh all of a sudden.

What does Allah say?

All of humanity is heading towards destruction. Except for those who have four characteristics — and it's wa, meaning "and" — not "or." All four are required for you to be saved from destruction. Number one: iman. Number two: good deeds. Number three: تَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ — invite one another towards the truth. Today I'm inviting you, tomorrow you have to invite me. None of us will be on a high all our lives. You come back from Umrah — a high for two weeks. From Hajj — a month. From khuruj — three days. From a humanitarian trip like mine — a few days. After that you go back to your old self. Then another person pushes you. We have to take turns. Number four: تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ — invite one another towards patience. Why does Allah mention sabr right here? Because you're going to get pushed back. As soon as you say, "Let's go for Fajr," as soon as at the dinner table you say, "How about we go pray Isha in the masjid?" — naturally people are going to say, "What, you became a maulvi?"

Allah Himself is telling you: be prepared. If you're going to invite towards good, be ready to invite one another to patience. Let your uncle say whatever he says. Don't get offended when people push back — that's what you should be expecting. And when someone pushes back with an evil response, you don't respond with: "You shut up, you became pious, huh?" No. You look down and say, "Please forgive me if I've upset you. Make du'a for me. I'm trying." When people see your akhlaq — that is what honestly changes the situation.

I mentioned in the Sunday night gathering about one orphan who had completely left the deen because of a horrible experience with so-called religious people. A brother who worked at the organization — such a loving and caring man — invited this young orphan to come along when he distributed food to orphans. He said, "Just watch." When dhuhr time came, he went and prayed. He didn't tell the boy to get out of the car — he said, "Wait a few minutes, I need to pray dhuhr and I'll be back." He did this the whole day. And this boy was watching this man handing out food, taking care of orphans, going to pray his salah and coming back quietly. After a few prayers, the boy himself said: "Why are you telling me to stay in the car? I want to come with you." He said, "I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable — by all means come." Slowly the changes happened. We met that boy — mashallah, he is now graduating from his four-year degree in Hanafi fiqh. He is becoming a scholar. What happened? Character. Bad experience, bad character, left the deen completely. And now mashallah he's becoming a scholar.

So this is what's going to happen. Repel evil with goodness. What will happen?

All of a sudden, the one with whom you had enmity will become like the most intimate friend. Hamim — most intimate. Interesting word: Hamim relates to hot water, to warmth. A hamim is that friend whose face turns red with anger in your absence if someone speaks ill of you — he's such a friend that he cannot take anyone speaking badly about you. Allah says that person between you and whom there was massive levels of animosity — not only will the hatred melt away, but he will become not just a friend, not just your friend, but your best friend. May Allah give all of us the tawfiq to start practicing this.

A Practical Prescription: Isal al-Thawab

I want all of you to think of one person right now — honestly, this person hates me. Think of someone, for whatever reason, whether the animosity is one day old or ten years old. Think of that person. And I want you to practice this ayah. Allah is saying to repel evil with goodness — how can it be wrong? You know what فَإِذَا means? Suddenly — you will see that person who had a mountain of hatred for you, not only will that melt away, but he will become your best friend.

One of the things I'll tell you: read Surah al-Ikhlas. Three times equals one Qur'an, right? Because the Prophet ﷺ said Surah al-Ikhlas equals one-third of the Qur'an — read it three times and it counts as one khatm al-Qur'an. Read it three times and make the intention of isal al-thawab for that person. Let's read it right now together:

Ya Allah, we dedicate the reward of this khatm al-Qur'an to all those people who hold animosity against us, and to all those towards whom we may hold animosity. Ya Allah, through the barakah of this, remove these walls between us.

I ask you to make the intention to do this every day. Every night — how long did it take us? Less than a minute. Every single night or day, at least once, recite this three times and dedicate it to all those people. You can also send them salamu alaykum, send them a hallmark card, a box of sweets — by all means do that too. But isal al-thawab is very powerful.

And I'll give you — since I know half the questions coming will be about marriage — one of the most powerful ways to bring muhabba and love between husband and wife, or between you and your parents, or anyone with whom there's a problem: Surah al-Rahman and Surah Yasin. Read them multiple times a day if you can — if not, once a day — and dedicate the reward to that person whose heart has turned against you. It could be a wife, a husband, a mom, a dad, a son, a daughter. And just watch the magic play out. I promise you. Anyone I've given this to who has practiced it has come back to me shocked: "How in the world did this happen?" So practice on Surah Yasin and Surah al-Rahman, and share it with others.

I ask Allah Azza wa Jal to accept whatever we shared today. Make it a means for myself to put into practice. Make it a means for all of us here to put into practice.

Questions & Answers

On Prolonged Rishta Talks Causing Anxiety

A person says months-long rishta talks, processing one proposal, are disrupting their daily functioning, leading to obsession with a potential spouse, distraction in salah, life, and panic. Obsession with something to this level is not healthy. I would suggest that a person needs to have the reminder of the belief in predestiny. If it is predestined for me, I'm going to get it — no one can snatch it away from me. And if I'm not going to get it, then the whole world put together is not going to be able to give it to me. Even if a person wants to get married to you, they will not be able to, if Allah does not will it. And if they don't want to, and Allah wills it, they will. Read up on some hadith and verses of the Qur'an on tawakkul and qadr — listen to talks on this. Additionally, incorporate some dhikr — istighfar, salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ. Seeking forgiveness from Allah and sending salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ will assist, insha'Allah.

Can You Read Surah Yasin, Rahman, and Ikhlas for Non-Muslims?

Yes, you can read for non-Muslims with the intention that Allah gives them hidayah, that Allah guides them.

On Mawlid Gatherings

It depends on what you mean by mawlid gatherings. If it's like a seerah conference where people gather simply to speak about the Prophet ﷺ, mention his praises, and send salutations upon him — there is nothing wrong with that. But if people are gathering with a birthday cake, blowing candles, thinking this is somehow virtuous, believing that the Prophet ﷺ is physically present in the gathering, standing to welcome him, or there are other khurafat and baseless additions to the deen — naturally a person should avoid those things. Any gathering where the setting is incorrect, a person should stay away from.

How to Speak to Someone Knowledgeable Who Misses Fajr?

Allah knows what that person's situation may be — they may have physical or health problems. But it's good that you have concern for them. I was telling students: you have a sticky note. Write a sticky note and put it on their book, put it in their shoes. As long as you present it with good intention, in a nice way, that's enough. Make du'a for the person you see not coming for Fajr, ask how you can help, and leave a note.

How to Love the Prophet ﷺ More Than Everyone Else?

When you follow the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ over the customs of your family — when there's a conflict between sunnah and family customs and you choose the sunnah — that is your love for Rasulullah ﷺ being greater than your love for everyone else. Sometimes people don't feel emotional love, and you can't always control that. The main thing is that the love translates into action. As long as your obedience to the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ is more than your obedience to anyone else, that's what matters most.

How to Correct Someone Elder When Culture Makes It Inappropriate?

Write a note — in Urdu, Arabic, or whatever language is appropriate. You can now use Google's voice-to-text feature to draft a message beautifully and send it from an anonymous number if needed. But before you send it, do some isal al-thawab — ask Allah to put effect in your words, give sadaqah on their behalf.

On Mixed Gatherings and Musical Weddings of Close Relatives

Send your gift beforehand, visit their home before the wedding, and attend the nikah in the masjid. You can even go to the wedding hall lobby to meet and greet guests. But say to them beforehand: "We teach our kids to avoid these types of gatherings. It would be hypocritical for us to show up ourselves, because our kids are being pulled in all directions and we want to set the trend correctly. Please forgive us." Initially people might be upset. But people love people of principle. When you show them you're giving gifts, helping unpack, assisting with arrangements, but simply can't be inside the hall at that time — they'll understand you're not hating them. It's just there are certain lines you don't cross.

My Mother Is Not Speaking to Me Because of My Spouse

This is a sad situation, and it's happening in many homes — both ways. It's crazy. Surah Yasin and Surah al-Rahman will definitely be a very helpful starting point in both of these cases.

Do We Choose to Be Misguided, or Does Allah Guide and Misguide?

Allah Azza wa Jal gives us the choice. When we ourselves make the wrong choices, Allah seals the heart. Allah says:

Allah seals the heart because of their own kufr. And:

"When they became crooked, Allah made their hearts go crooked." So we are the ones who end up making the wrong choices first.

Tahajjud Calling Trees

Make a calling tree for tahajjud — at 5 o'clock, who's calling who. Just call each other, you can't force them, but having a calling tree is great. The issue with sending a text at that time saying "I'm making du'a for you" is that there's a chance of losing sincerity — that now everyone knows you're up for tahajjud. I would avoid that to protect the ikhlas.

How to Remove Pride From the Heart

Always focus on your sins. When you start thinking about all the sins that only you and Allah know of, you'll realize there's nothing to be proud about. Whatever goodness we have only came from Allah.

Memory — Any Cure?

Recite يَا قَوِيُّ، يَا مَتِينُ — Ya Qawiyy, Ya Mateen — insha'Allah. Teachers also mention reading Surah Yasin, Surah Sad, Surah al-Mulk, and Surah al-Dukhan on Thursday nights.

Can You Dedicate Yasin and Rahman for the Deceased?

Yes, of course. You can do isal al-thawab for the deceased as well.

Closing Du'a

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept this gathering. Oh Allah, accept all the brothers and sisters who joined us in person or online. Those who wanted to come but were not able to — Oh Allah, accept them for their intentions. Oh Allah, grant all of us genuine concern for the ummah. Grant us concern for the livelihood of the ummah, for the physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual well-being of the ummah. Oh Allah, make us amongst those who can easily shed tears for the condition of the ummah. Make us amongst those who can spend hours of the night crying in front of You — solely for the benefit of the ummah. Oh Allah, make us amongst those gifted with the concern of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Oh Allah, allow us to feel the pain of the deen diminishing from the ummah. Allow us to feel the pain of the sunnah being trampled upon, the masajid becoming empty, people leaving Islam and leaving the deen. Allow us to genuinely feel concern and hurt when we see Islam being attacked from without and from within. And then inspire all of us with the solutions — how to revive Islam in our own lives, within our own professions, what we must do and what we can do.

Oh Allah, grant us the ability to beg for the ummah the way Rasulullah ﷺ did. Make us amongst those whose heart aches and pains the way our Prophet's ﷺ heart ached. Make us amongst those who will be raised with the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgment, raised with the Sahaba.

Oh Allah, accept the shahada of all those being martyred across the globe, and allow their blood that is being spilt to become a means of revival of Islam across the globe — a means of awakening people from the slumber of heedlessness. Oh Allah, strengthen our brothers and sisters wherever they are being oppressed. Allow the oppressed ones to have their day in court — not only in the akhirah but in this dunya as well. Allow the oppressed to gain victory over the oppressors.

Oh Allah, protect our health, our wealth, our property, our deen, our dunya, our children, our spouses from all fitna. Oh Allah, we beg You to make the end result of the upcoming elections the best for the ummah. Save us from any evil of this election. Oh Allah, everyone and everything is Your creation — no one can benefit us nor harm us without Your permission. We ask Your protection from the harm of Your creation, from any traitor, from any tyrant, from any zalim.

Oh Allah, accept the du'a of the oppressed, the orphans, the widows, and those going through tremendous difficulty. Oh Allah, through the barakah of this gathering, fulfill all of the needs — of this world and the next — of all our brothers and sisters here, and remove all worries and concerns from each of them.

Oh Allah, grant us all the spirit of da'wah. Grant us the spirit of forgiving one another. Grant us the spirit of repelling evil with goodness. Oh Allah, the brothers have raised their hands and made the niyyah to read Surah al-Ikhlas every day and dedicate it as isal al-thawab to the entire ummah, and specifically to those people who harbor enmity against them or the other way around. Oh Allah, accept these intentions. Give tawfiq to all of us to not forget this intention and to be consistent on it.

Oh Allah, grant us a life of goodness, death on goodness, and raise us with goodness on the Day of Judgment.