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Khutbah on Ibadah (Worship)

Speaker: Shaykh Navaid Aziz

Opening

(السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatu-llāhi wa barakātuh)

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm)

Khutbat al-Hajah (Opening Khutbah)

We begin by praising Allah, thanking Him, seeking His aid and guidance, and seeking His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, no one can lead astray. And whomsoever Allah allows to go astray, then there is no guide for him.

(وَنُصَلِّي وَنُسَلِّمُ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ - wa nuṣallī wa nusallimu ʿalā nabiyyinā muḥammadin wa ʿalā ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi wa man tabiʿahum bi-ʾiḥsānin ʾilā yawmi d-dīn)

And we ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his family, his companions, and all those who follow his way until the Last Day.

Introduction

I don't think it's hidden from anyone that this room isn't empty, and I swear that this room isn't full. So I don't respect other people sitting all over the back. You know, I took a shower before I came, I brushed my teeth, so there's no offensive odors. So, brothers, please come forward inshallah.

Just to mention something, I was at a fundraising dinner about two or three years ago, and it was a similar scenario. The hall was pretty much empty, and the speaker was really enthusiastic. He got so enthusiastic, not only did he tell the brothers to come forward, but he told his sisters to come and fill in the gaps as well. So I remember that caused quite a bit of chaos. But inshallah, I won't make the same mistake. So sisters, please stay where you are inshallah.

Our topic for today is the topic of ibadah and the relationship that our predecessors had with it. And obviously, it's a very important topic, not only from a purely textual manner, but in a societal manner as well. Because we're living in a time where one of two things is happening: either a person is being raised upon secularism, meaning that he's not going to be worshipping Allah nor any sort of creator nor any sort of higher being, but rather, he's going to be just busy with this worldly life, or the only thing he ends up worshipping, due to the

great ego that builds up with secularism, is himself. Or he's growing up in a society where he's looking for the truth, but due to the amount of chaos and tribulation, he's unable to find it.

So from that aspect, obviously, it's a very important matter. And what we were taught growing up as Muslims is that the Companions of Allah and the Prophets are the best of examples. So this is why we're trying to tie the two together: the importance of worship, and the relationship that the Companions and their students had with worship.

The Purpose of Creation

To begin, I think one of the most basic things that we all know is that Allah created us in this dunya not to have fun and have pleasure all the time—though obviously there's a time for it—but rather, He created us to worship Him and Him alone.

Allah explicitly tells us our purpose of creation when He says:

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me."

And this is something that's really remarkable in Islam, that no other religion makes it as explicit as Islam what our purpose of creation is. You see that those people who go through their midlife crises at the ages of 30 and 40, if not before or after, they're always wondering, "Why was I created? What is my purpose in this life?" And Islam doesn't put us on such a mission, because not only were we raised upon the fiqh of worshiping Allah, but rather Allah explicitly told us in the text of the Quran that we were created for no other reason except to worship Allah.

The Purpose of Sending Messengers

Secondly, Allah sent messengers and prophets for a reason. Obviously there were a lot of tribulations throughout time, and Allah sent the messengers to clean that up and to perfect the characters of the people as well. But Allah tells us explicitly why He sent the messengers when He says in the Quran:

"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid false deities.'"

So Allah in this ayah tells us that to every nation He sent a messenger so that Allah may be worshipped, and that all worship other than that of Allah be avoided and warned against. So this is why the messengers and the prophets were sent.

So a lot of people, when they talk about our belief in the messengers, they try to find these wishy-washy reasons as to why the Prophet came, and why the other messengers came. That they tried to perfect society in a political manner, in a societal manner, in an economic manner, and things like that. When actually the main reason that these prophets and messengers were sent was so that it may be known that Allah is the only one to be worshipped.

And this, again, is from the perfection of Islam, that there was never a time when we were left clueless as to what we were supposed to do with our lives. Now, as the talk goes on, with time permitting, we will see that worship in Islam is not restricted to Salah, Zakah, and Siyam alone, but rather all our actions, all the actions we do in our daily lifespans, can be ibadah based upon one's intention.

Definition of Ibadah

So to begin, as is common when studying any matter or any subject, you need to know the important definitions involved. The term Ibadah comes from 'Abada.

Linguistic Definition

'Abada in the Arabic language means al-khudu' or al-dhull: lowliness, submissiveness, to lower oneself. That's what it means. And that's why when you call someone an 'abd (slave), in our times and at all times, it's considered a form of humiliation, that you humble yourself in front of that person. And that's why even in English, when you call someone your slave, or you say to them, "I am your master," it's a very low, debasing term, for lack of a better word.

Technical Definition (Shari'ah)

As for the Shari'ah, or technical definition of the word Ibadah, we're going to be taking three definitions. Of the three, we'll only be going into detail with the first two.

First Definition - Ibn Taymiyyah

The first definition is what Ibn Taymiyyah mentions in Al-'Ubudiyyah, when he says:

"Ibadah is a comprehensive term for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, from statements and actions, the internal and the external."

So Ibn Taymiyyah mentions that Ibadah, in the conventional defining of it, is a comprehensive term—ism jami' for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, whether they be statements or physical actions, whether they be open or hidden. These are all called Ibadah. And also part of the definition is that you have to know that Allah is pleased with them.

And how does one know that Allah is pleased with them? Except through the text. And we'll be getting to that at another time. So that's the more physical definition, I guess you could say, of the term Ibadah.

Second Definition - Ibn Kathir

As for the spiritual term of Ibadah, then Ibn Kathir mentions in his tafsir of Surah Al-Fatihah that Ibadah is a term that encompasses three things. Ibn Kathir says that it is said that it is a term that combines:

1. The perfection of love of Allah

2. Submissiveness to Allah

3. Humility in front of Allah

So these three definitions we're going to be taking and discussing in detail.

Third Definition

As for the third definition, inshallah, maybe in another lecture or another time we'll be studying in more detail. And it is said that the Ibadah of Allah is obeying Him by acting upon everything that He has commanded us with and leaving that which He has warned us against.

So these are the three basic definitions that you find in the Shari'ah in defining Ibadah.

Ibadah as a Comprehensive Way of Life

So now taking Ibn Taymiyyah's definition when he said that it is an all-comprehensive term in which Allah is pleased with and loves those actions or statements, the open of them or the hidden of them, we can see that the actions that we do, if we do them with a proper intention, they can be for Allah, they can become acts of worship.

And this is what I think fools a lot of people, that when they talk about Islam being a deen, they often define deen as being a religion, when actually a deen is more a way of life, a way of dealing with people. You often hear the saying, "The way you treat is the way you shall be treated." And this is what Islam is actually about.

Islam, if you were to give it a slogan or a title, you would call it a religion of rights or a way of life that fulfills the rights and needs of the people. That's why we see that Allah has His rights, the messengers have their rights, our parents have their rights, and the children have their rights. So this is what Islam is all about.

So in restricting Islam to just being a religion where you go to the masjid and you pray and you give sadaqah to the people and you fast Ramadan, this is an atrocity because Islam is much more greater than that. When we are kind to our wives and to our children, when we respect our parents, and when we are merciful to the poor and to the homeless, this is all from Islam. And it really is an atrocity to restrict Islam to those acts of worship that are, I guess you could say, particular to Allah, like salah. So there's more to Ibadah than meets the eye or than most people think of. It all depends on one's intention.

Conditions of Ibadah

So now, Ibadah, like all other things, it has its conditions and it has its pillars. As for the conditions of Ibadah, there are generally three conditions:

First Condition: Iman (Faith)

The first condition is Iman. That in order for your Ibadah to be accepted by Allah, you have to have Iman.

And this Iman that we call to and that we believe in is belief in Allah, belief in the Messengers, belief in the Last Day, belief in the Books, belief in the Angels, and belief in the Qadr of Allah, the good of it and the bad of it. Like Jibril came to the Prophet and he said:

أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ

"Tell me about Iman."

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8)

And then he mentioned these six things. So this is the Iman that we are referring to. And our actions will not be accepted by Allah unless these conditions are fulfilled.

You often hear about these righteous people who aren't Muslims and they're like, "Look at all the good that they did. Allah wouldn't disgrace them or humiliate them because of the good that they did." But in actuality, if they did not come with this Iman, in believing in Allah and the Messengers, their actions will not be accepted, such that Allah says about these people:

"And We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed."

We will bring forth the actions of these people and you will see it turn into scattered dust, no matter how many actions that they have done.

And one of the most recent events, I guess you could say, was that of Mother Teresa. You know, we all heard about what a great woman she was and the services she did for the poor and the needy and the destitute and all that. But in actuality, until a person comes with Iman, these actions that we do are useless.

And this is something that we have to realize, that obviously Allah does not prevent us but rather encourages us to be good and to deal well with the Christians and the Jews. This is from the matters of Allah, that as long as they are not oppressing us, we are commanded to be kind to them and to treat them in a good manner. But treating them in a kind manner and to deal with them with goodness and politeness, this is not a necessity that we start saying that they will be entered into Jannah with us. Hasha lillah, Allah is above and beyond this. So it is only the Muslims who will be entered into Jannah, with the condition that we have Iman.

Examples from the Companions and Their Students

So let us take examples from the Ibadah of the Companions and their Salawat.

Example 1: Abdullah ibn Umar

Nafi', the slave of Abdullah ibn Umar, he narrates about Abdullah ibn Umar—and just reflect upon this for a minute. He said that if Ibn Umar ever missed Salat al-'Isha with the Jama'ah, if he ever missed Salat al-Jama'ah in the Masjid, he would spend the whole night praying, seeking Allah's forgiveness.

Now ask yourself this question: How many times a day do you miss Salat al-Jama'ah in the Masjid? And how many times a day do you just end up praying alone? If we were to count this, we can understand why the Ummah is in the state that it's in. Because our worship is nowhere close to the worship of our predecessors. And this is what made them so great, amongst other things, is that their dedication to Allah was tremendous and enormous that you can't even compare our worship to it.

Example 2: The Statement of Abu al-'Aliyah

And it actually reminds me of a statement of Abu al-'Aliyah. He actually lived to be one of the last people who met the Companions. He died in the year 110 A.H. And he describes the time that he's living in by saying that the actions that you call Ibadah, the Companions wouldn't have recognized any of them, being that they were so strange, except for the Salat. He says that the only thing that will be recognized in Islam is your Salat.

And if one thinks about it today, imagine if Abu al-'Aliyah lived in our times. What would he say about us? Most of us are praying Salat at its very end. We're not praying our Salawat in Jama'ah. And when we do pray, it's in a very hasty manner. There's no Khushu'. There's no sincerity. None of that is there.

You can just imagine the harsh words that Abu al-'Aliyah would have said to us. So now take this example of Abdullah ibn Umar and the dedication that he had, that in missing the Jama'ah, he would spend the rest of the night praying.

Example 3: Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib

And then you have Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, the Imam of the time, or one of the Imams of the time, who said that for 30 years, I did not hear the Adhan except that I was already in the Masjid waiting for it.

30 years! You know, a lot of us in this room, we haven't even reached that age yet. Yet just imagine, he spent 30 years of his life that before the Adhan for Salat would be made, he was already inside the Masjid. Now where

do you stand from this action? Even if some of us pray in Jama'ah, when do we show up? Seconds before the Adhan, if we're fortunate. If not, we're entering during the second, third, or fourth rak'ah.

And this is a very extreme sadness that when we're here today, it shows that we have some sort of dedication to Islam. We are the dedicated believers. We are carrying the flag of Islam in North America and in Canada, and in Montreal specifically. And if this is our state, the people who are here, who are entering the Jama'ah—if they enter the Jama'ah—in the second, third, and fourth rak'ah, then what do we expect from those people who are not here today? And those people who aren't showing their dedication to Islam? And those people who aren't as practicing as some of us? What do we expect from them? Obviously, it's much less than this.

The Path to Honor and Dignity

And this is why, again, Islam is sick at its head. They think that we'll regain our strength and honor and dignity by seeking wealth and by blowing up buildings and bringing fear to the hearts of the people. But the only way that this Ummah is going to gain its prosperity and respect and honor back is by returning to Islam.

And this is why we see that famous quote of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, which literally should not only be engraved in our hearts, but should also be engraved in gold due to the wisdom that it holds.

The Story of Abu 'Ubaydah and 'Umar

Abu 'Ubaydah 'Amir ibn al-Jarrah, the Amin of this Ummah, was with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab on his way to Al-Quds (Jerusalem). And he saw 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and he said, "O Amir al-Mu'minin, why is it that you still wear such raggedy clothing that is patched up? When the Roman emperors and the kings wear the most fashionable and the most luxurious clothing. Are you not the Amir of the believers?"

To which 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "Had it been anyone other than you who said this, I would have struck him with my sword."

And then he said those words:

"We are a people who have been honored and dignified and granted respect through Islam. So if we seek respect and honor and dignity through other than Islam, Allah will disgrace us."

This is something we all have to understand, brothers and sisters, that if we want to be respected individuals, it is not going to be through the jobs that we have, the house that we have, or the cars that we have. But rather, ultimate respect and ultimate success lies in the hands of Allah. And He only gives it to those people who are dedicated Muslims. So if you want respect and honor, not only for yourself and your family but for this Muslim Ummah, then return back to your deen.

The Importance of Righteous Companionship

And then we have the statement of Ibrahim al-Taymi. And listen to his words. He's talking about companions, and what are the things that you should look for in a companion.

And we all know the importance of a companion because the Prophet ﷺ has told us:

"Indeed the man is upon the deen of his friend, so let him look to whom he takes as a friend."

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4833; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2378)

So Ibrahim al-Taymi says that if you see a man missing Takbirat al-Ihram (the opening takbir), then wash your hands of him. Wash your hands of him if you see him missing this Takbirat al-Ihram.

So meaning not only is it a condition for your friend to be praying in Salat al-Jama'ah, but rather he should be there on time as well. Before the salat begins, he should be there. And there's so many lessons that are derived from this statement. The importance of salat, the importance of praying in jama'ah, the importance of praying on time.

But again, we also see the concern that the Companions had in the social aspects of life. That they didn't just befriend anyone and everyone, but rather they befriended and took as friends only the best of people.

And this is something that we should keep in mind as well. That when we take companions, it shouldn't be those people who will bring us down in our deen, who will encourage us to waste time and do silly and stupid things. But rather it should be those people who remind us of Allah, and remind us of His Prophet ﷺ, and remind us to do righteous deeds, and warn us against evil deeds.

Abdullah ibn Umar's Practice

If you look at the example of Abdullah ibn Umar, he was famous for this, that he would go to his friends, and he would say, "Let us sit down and increase our deen by an hour."

This is the type of friend that you should be searching for. A friend that will come up to you, and not say, "Let's go to the theater and watch a movie," or "Let's go out to eat." But rather say, "Let us sit down and remember Allah for an hour."

24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And how many of those minutes and seconds are spent remembering Allah? Very few of them. Most of us, or the majority of us, will spend our time forgetting Allah.

And we don't realize the repercussions of these actions. So, part of returning back to Allah and being conscious of Him is having a noble and righteous friend.

More Examples of the Predecessors' Worship

Example 4: Tamim al-Dari

And then, we have Tamim al-Dari, another noble and illustrious Companion. He was a Companion who

narrated the hadith:

"The religion is sincere advice."

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 55)

It is narrated that there were nights where Tamim al-Dari used to recite the Quran—not in 10 rak'ahs, not in 5 rak'ahs, not in 2 rak'ahs—in one rak'ah, he would recite the whole Quran.

Now, contemplate that. Leave Salah aside for a second. How many of us read the Quran in a single year? How many of us read the Quran in a single month? How many of us read the Quran in a single day? And how many of us read certain sections of it? Times will go by that some of us will not even read the Quran except in Ramadan.

So all year will go by, we will not read the Quran except in the time of Ramadan. And then you have Tamim al-Dari, illustrious and noble Companion, who used to read the Quran in one rak'ah. Think about this, brothers and sisters.

That, again, we want the dignity and respect for ourselves and for our religion. It's by returning back to our deen and trying to implement these acts of worship like the illustrious Companions implemented them. For indeed, they were the most respected and the noblest of generations.

Example 5: Sa'id ibn Jubayr

And, on a similar note, we see that those people who followed them in righteousness, how did they gain their honor? It was in a very similar manner. They tried to reflect their worship just like the Companions did. And this is why we have Sa'id ibn Jubayr, again another Imam from the Tabi'in, who, when he used to go for 'Umrah, or when he used to go to Makkah, and he used to enter the Ka'bah, he would pray, again, in one rak'ah, the whole Quran, recited from its beginning, from Surah Al-Fatihah to Surah An-Nas.

Now, obviously, this is not something easy to do. It's not easy to do at all. But there is nothing stopping you from taking baby steps towards doing this action. Obviously, the walk of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Likewise, your journey to Allah, in worshiping Him like the Companions did, let it begin with baby steps.

Pray your five daily prayers all the time. Try to pray as many of them in jama'ah as you can. And likewise, wake up in the middle of the night and remember your Lord. What is better than doing so? It is the very sins that we commit that shackle us down from waking in the middle of the night.

And abandon this great action of remembering Allah in the middle of the night. And it is only when we return to these actions that this Ummah will be respected and dignified again.

Conclusion

And my time has come to an end. So I will leave you with these very words that Islam, in this day and age, as the Prophet ﷺ has said, is like holding on to hot coals.

"The one who is patient upon his deen is like the one who is holding on to hot coals."

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2260)

But, for the believer, he doesn't look at the hotness of the coal or the severity of the coal, but rather he looks at who he is doing it for. And when we realize that our lives are for Allah alone, the biggest trials and tribulations become easy.

So keep this in mind brothers and sisters, and know that you will be held accountable for everything that you say and you do. And the first thing that you will be held accountable for on Yawm al-Qiyamah is your salah. So preserve it and fulfill its rights. Pray it with khushu'. Think about your love for Allah. Think about your hope in Him. And then, let your fear take its place as well.

Final Advice from Ibn al-Qayyim

And I end off with what Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, again said in Madarij al-Salikin: he said that when a person lives his life in terms of his pillars, he should be living in a state of fear. Meaning that he should fear Allah at all times. Think that Allah is watching him and that he should be conscious of Him at all times. And when it comes to his time of death, let him be hopeful. Let him be hopeful for all the good that he has done that Allah will recompense him with good and with Jannah and with the luxuries of the afterlife.

Closing

So keeping this in mind, I end by saying:

"I say this saying of mine and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all the Muslims of all sins. So ask Him for forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful."

"Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I bear witness that there is no deity except You. I ask You for forgiveness and I turn to You in repentance."

"And may Allah send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions."

"And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings."

End of Khutbah