Allah Never Forsakes: Reviving Faith Through Every Age

Opening Praises and Salawat

الحمد لله الخالقِ الوجودِ من العدم، وجاعلِ النورِ من الظُّلَم، ومُخرجِ الصبرِ من الألم، ومُلقي التوبةِ على النَّدَم، فنشكرُه على المصائبِ كما نشكرُه على النِّعَم، ونُصلِّي ونُسلِّمُ على رسولِه الأكرم، ذي الشرفِ الأسمى والنورِ الأتمِّ وكمالِ النبيِّين والكتابِ المُحكَم، سيِّدِ ولدِ آدم، الذي بشَّرَ به عيسى ابنُ مريم، ودعا لبعثتِه إبراهيمُ عليه السلام حين كان يرفعُ قواعدَه بيتَ اللهِ المُحرَّم، والذي باركَ اللهُ به كافَّةَ الناسِ العربَ منهم والعجم. فسبحانَ الذي لم يتَّخذ ولداً ولم يكن له شريكٌ في الملك ولم يكن له وليٌّ من الذُّل وكبِّرْهُ تكبيراً.

الحمد لله الذي أنزلَ على عبدِه الكتابَ ولم يجعَلْ له عِوَجاً.

أما بعد، يقول الله تعالى في كتابه، بعد أن أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم، بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم:

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3493; Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 2638)

— or words to that effect.

Glorification of Allah

Respected audience, dear brothers and sisters, and honorable esteemed guests of Allah, let us start off with the glorification of Allah as any khutbah devoid of the mention of the greatness of Allah remains incomplete.

O Allah, the eyes cannot see You, and thoughts cannot fathom You, and anyone attempting to give an accurate description of Allah is unable to do so. He knows the weight of the weightiest mountains and the depths of the deepest oceans. Nothing remains hidden from the sight and the vision of Allah. He is all-capable, all-hearing, and all-seeing.

As a command was given to Rasulullah by Allah Himself:

Say, O Muhammad ﷺ: if you were to take all the water that exists in the oceans of the planet and all the trees that exist on the face of the earth, and you were to turn the trees into pens and all the water into ink, and start to note down the glorification of Allah — the pens shall perish, the ink will finish, and the glorification of Allah will not finish.

Salawat Upon the Prophet

Then we send peace, blessings, and salawat upon Rasulullah ﷺ. As a poet says:

The eyes have not seen anything as beautiful and as radiant as the face of Rasulullah ﷺ, and the women have not given birth to anyone as handsome and as beautiful as Rasulullah ﷺ. You have been created devoid of all defects — it is as if you yourself were given the choice by Allah of how you would like to look.

Allah's Revival of Islam Through the Ages

Respected audience, dear brothers and sisters, Allah has caused a revival of Islam throughout the ages. Whenever a people would be going through difficulties and times of fitna, and they would become hopeless and think that it's game over, Allah would send someone who would revive the deen of Allah.

We have the example of Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah. Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah came at a time when some of the basic tenets of faith were being questioned, and the fitna became so widespread. It was not the fitna of bloodshed, it was not the fitna of loss of life, it was not the fitna of poverty. As Allah mentions in the Qur'an — the human beings, and specifically the Muslims, are tested in different ways:

We will test you through a little bit of fear — Allah said here بِشَيْءٍ, and this بَاء is for تَبْعِيض, which means "a little bit of," not entirely. So a little bit of خَوْف, بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ, and a little bit of hunger, وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ, and sometimes a little deficiency in your sustenance, at other times a loved one can be taken away. And that's how Allah tests His creation — to see how steadfast they are.

The Pledge of the Sahabah

We have multiple examples of people who, when everything was going according to plan, they were happy. The example of the Sahabah is that they remained happy at all times regardless of ease or difficulty. The pledge that they gave to Rasulullah ﷺ is a very simple pledge — you know what a بَيْعَة is, when you make a pact, a pledge:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7199; Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 1709)

— that we pledged allegiance to Rasulullah ﷺ in times of ease, in times of difficulty, when things are going according to plan, when things are not going according to plan.

We have the example of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh r.a. who stood next to Rasulullah ﷺ and said: "O Rasulullah, you take us wherever you want to take us — any terrain, no matter how difficult it is, you will find us on your left and your right, in front of you and behind you."

The Hadith of Fitna Like Pieces of Dark Night

The times that we live in are very, very difficult. The Prophet ﷺ warned:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 186)

Trials will come like pieces of a dark night. A man's morning will come to him in a state of firm faith and iman, and by the evening iman has left him — and the other way around: the evening will come in a state of iman, and by the morning iman has left him.

The ones who do the sharh of this hadith have given two interpretations. Number one: that it will be a complete renunciation of faith — that the person is Muslim in the morning and by the evening he has become a murtad. The second interpretation is that in the morning iman will be at its height — the person is in full faith with full conviction and doing everything to obey Allah — but by the evening he has committed so many sins, and specifically major sins, that the level of iman has completely diminished and dwindled.

The Story of Imam al-Ghazali

I was talking about Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah. He came at a time when everyone thought that it's over — the basic aqaid of the ummah were in question. When he was very young, he set out on a journey of attaining ilm and knowledge. It is mentioned that for multiple years — he was born in the city of Balkh, I believe — and he never returned to the city for 6, 7, 8 years.

On the way back, just like any young man who is a fresh graduate — you're full of energy — he was in a caravan and the caravan was robbed. What ended up happening: they took everything, all the luggage was searched, anything that they found valuable was taken away. Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah started to cry — not only was he crying, he was bawling at the top of his lungs. The robbers were very amazed and said, "What's the matter with you? Why are you crying so much?" In their minds they were thinking that something extremely precious had been taken from this young man. He told them that there were some notes — notes that he had been compiling over a period of 6 and 7 years — and one of the robbers had taken them. They started laughing and said, "You're crying over a piece of paper?"

The leader of the robbers summoned Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah. He also laughed a little bit, but then he said something. You know, there is the hadith of Rasulullah:

— sometimes Allah takes help for His deen from a sinful person as well, an open sinner. فَاجِر is a superlative degree of a sinner.

So the leader of the robbers said something interesting: "What use is your ilm and your knowledge if it's in a piece of paper? It's of no use whatsoever." Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah took that to heart. He went back, and for a very long time he secluded himself. One of the first things he did was commit his ilm to memory, and then he secluded himself from society.

Seclusion vs. Remaining in Society

Remember what I said — times of great fitna. And even for us, sometimes it sounds very appealing. When we discuss the difficulties that are around us and all the pressure that is building up in society, what are some of the things that come up in our discussions? It sounds like a great idea to buy land far away somewhere in the outskirts. Recently people have been talking about buying land in Canada, somewhere far away in the outskirts where you're not connected in any way to the society. It sounds very appealing — why? Because you will not be connected to the very society which may be the cause of the disease and which has the germs in it.

But the steadfast believer will remain in that society until things become so difficult that you're not able to change them at all. The ulema have a list of criteria that need to be fulfilled before you are able to move to a secluded area. But most of the time, the difficult thing is to remain in society and remain steadfast on the deen.

Going back to the story of Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah — he remained secluded for a very long period of time until the fitna reached its height. And this fitna that I mentioned was attacking the basic aqaid of the believers. So the king — the Nizam of that time who had established a Nizamiyyah university — he invited Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah to come to Damascus and teach in that university. Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah eventually accepted, and Allah caused a revival of the deen — the tajdeed of the deen of Allah — through Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah.

Will the Revival Happen With Us or Without Us?

The reason why I mentioned all of this is that the question we need to ask ourselves is: will the revival of the deen happen with us or without us? That's the question. Because the people who will shy away from difficulty in these times — it is very convenient to lock yourself in your house and become hopeless and say things like "What use is this? What use is that?" And even the people who are striving and trying to do something, you criticize them and you ridicule them — that's the easier thing to do. The most difficult thing is to step out and come out as a Muslim, as the reality of who you yourself are.

The revival of the deen will happen — remember, everything is a part of taqdeer. The Sahabah said: رَضِينَا بِقَضَاءِ اللهِ وَقَدَرِهِ — we are happy with the decree of Allah. And we are being led in a certain direction because whatever has been destined for us by Allah is bound to happen.

Remember when we accepted iman — what is the most basic thing about our faith? إِقْرَارٌ بِاللِّسَانِ وَتَصْدِيقٌ بِالْقَلْبِ — it's something you would have heard hundreds of times. What does it mean? That I testify there is none worthy of worship except Allah. What else do you testify? That Rasulullah ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. Once you say this, many things become obligatory upon you. One of those things: وَالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ مِنَ اللهِ — decree, good or bad, comes from Allah. And بَعْثٌ بَعْدَ الْمَوْت — resurrection after death.

So remember, even if the struggle happens — and struggle has been destined for us in this worldly life by us living in these times of fitna — when بَعْثٌ بَعْدَ الْمَوْت happens, when resurrection after death happens, is that struggle still going to be there or not? That's something we need to focus on as Muslims and as believers.

Do Not Curse Time — Do Not Disagree With Allah's Decree

Yes, this worldly life will become difficult. Allama Iqbal famously stated: "Bijli girti hai toh bechari Musalmanon par" — whenever lightning strikes, it strikes on who? The Muslims, correct? But this in itself is the basic concept of being tested by Allah.

Sometimes life will be taken away. And the reason why I got into this whole point is to take away the state of hopelessness — that many of us, when we see events unfolding on a global scale, every day it seems to get worse and worse, locally and also on a global scale. What ends up happening is that we start to criticize and many a times we end up disagreeing with the decree of Allah. And remember, it can happen knowingly and it can also happen unknowingly.

There is a hadith — a hadith Qudsi — that Allah mentions: يَسُبُّ ابْنُ آدَمَ الدَّهْرَ — the son of Adam curses the time. Can we imagine doing something like that? Not even in our wildest dreams could a thought like that pass our minds. But how does he do it? He starts to curse the decree of Allah. He curses the time. And it's something we do on a regular basis. The most common Urdu phrase that we say is "yeh toh zamanah hi kharab hai" — you know, the times are really bad. But remember, these are the times you are being subjected to by the decree of Allah. So we have no margin of questioning and no way of questioning the decree of Allah.

The Deen Is a Treasure — People Are Mines

That's number one. Number two: I ask the question of whether the revival of the deen of Allah will happen with us or without us. That's something to keep in mind. It reminds me of a hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ in which he mentions:

(Referenced in various hadith compilations regarding the treasures of goodness/deen)

He says: verily, the deen of Allah is precious. And whenever you have something precious, what do you do with that precious thing? You keep it under lock — you have a key for it, and you keep that key very safe. Back in the days, I'm sure you had bigger keys. What's mentioned about Qarun:

Qarun was a very wealthy individual, and it is mentioned that he needed multiple rides just to carry the keys of his treasures. So normally, when you have something precious, when it's a treasure, you keep it in a safe place and you have the keys for it.

So the deen of Allah is also precious — and Allah will use us to safeguard that precious deen. That's how we fit into the equation. Because one can say: "Okay, you mentioned the deen of Allah is precious — what about me? Am I not precious?" You are also precious, because you will be used to safeguard the deen of Allah.

You know, we always talk about:

The Qur'an came down from Allah. Allah says that He will be the protector and guardian of it. That does not subtract us from the equation. Look at all of these huffadh of the Qur'an — the ones who memorize the Qur'an, learn it, and propagate it — it means that mankind will be used for that service. So when the deen is something precious, Allah will use us and our expertise for the service of the deen.

People Are Like Mines of Gold and Silver

That brings me to the second hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ which I recited in the beginning of the khutbah:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3493; Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 2638)

What does it mean? That people are like mines. And whenever we think of mines, what's the first thing that comes to mind? There are many things attached to a mine — different kinds: gold mines, silver mines, coal mines. The hadith specifically talks about mines of two things: gold and silver, because these are the two most precious things.

Allama Ibn Hajar rahimahullah mentions that by mentioning a mine, there's a subtle hint towards two things. Number one: the people themselves are precious — because a gold mine or a silver mine is precious, correct? Companies will invest millions — not in the gold and silver that's already there, but millions just in trying to get to that gold and silver. You need different types of equipment, you've got to dig in, you've got to go into tunnels, it's not everywhere, you've got to search for it, you've got to find it. So number one: the mine in itself is precious. Number two: it gives the message to the people that there is something precious to be found here.

Similar is the case with the deen of Allah: first, in itself it's precious; and number two, there's something precious to be found here.

Recognizing the Value in People

Another interesting point here is recognition. Many times we see people, we come across people, and we do not recognize their value. I'm sure you've heard of the saying: don't judge a book by its cover. Sometimes you see someone and you don't interact with them much, and you judge them based on your own intellect. But then you get the opportunity to spend some time with them, to sit down with them — and then you realize: this person is precious. Your initial assessment of that individual was completely incorrect.

Similarly here: there will be people you come across when they are not gifted with the connection to Allah. Sometimes they will be Muslims but not connected to Allah. At other times they will be non-Muslims — because the hadith makes reference of خِيَارُهُمْ فِي الجَاهِلِيَّةِ as well. There are many good people even in times of ignorance. But once they accepted Islam, their reality completely changed.

We know the example of the companions of Rasulullah ﷺ. These people were some of the worst people of society, and they were not shy to admit it: "We were the most ignorant of the ignorant. We would rob, we would steal, we would do any sin that could be imaginable — we have committed it." Until:

Until Allah sent upon us a prophet who guided us towards the right path. So those precious stones were there — and when they were plucked, polished, and worked upon, they became the finest of humanity.

Submitting to the Service of Allah

Our example is that we need to submit ourselves to the service of Allah. Many a times our own nafs is attached to us. And even when we're sitting in talks like these, while the talk is going on, our mind is already contradicting it. This is one of the biggest diseases of our time. We're living in times of great intellect and intellectual capabilities — although that's questionable — but intellectual capabilities are at their height. But sometimes those intellectual capabilities also come with a curse: the person is constantly thinking for himself. And whenever a khutbah is going on, your brain is already countering it in your head: "Why are you giving us the example of the Sahabah? They were great people. We are not even close to them — we're not even worth the dust."

But that doesn't mean that one should not try to imitate their example. Time does not permit me to go any further, but may Allah give us the understanding that the deen of Allah is precious, and we will only become precious by being attached with the deen of Allah.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Second Khutbah

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين، وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين، ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين. أما بعد:

Allah says:

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3790; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 154)

May Allah be pleased with them all.

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْعَبَّاسِ وَوَلَدِهِ مَغْفِرَةً ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً لَا تُقَادَلُ ذَنْباً. اللَّهَ اللَّهَ فِي أَصْحَابِي، لَا تَتَّخِذُوهُمْ غَرَضاً مِنْ بَعْدِي. فَمَنْ أَحَبَّهُمْ فَبِحُبِّي أَحَبَّهُمْ، وَمَنْ أَبْغَضَهُمْ فَبِبُغْضِي أَبْغَضَهُمْ. وَخَيْرُ أُمَّتِي قَرْنِي، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ.

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ.

O servants of Allah, may Allah have mercy on you:

Remember Allah and He will remember you. Call upon Him and He will respond to you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. Allah knows what you do. Establish the prayer.

Salah — Surah al-A'la & Surah al-Duha

The following Qur'anic surahs were recited during the prayer:

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Please also make du'a for the father of brother Ismail Amjad — Muhammad Iqbal Ali Khan — who passed away in Dallas. May Allah grant him maghfirah, ameen.