Islam's Complete Guidance: Beyond Rituals to Daily Life

Opening

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَعَلَى عَاقِبَةٍ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ. وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَأَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ.

Respected brothers, elders, mothers and sisters.

The Scope of Deen and Ibadah

Many a times when we think of Islam, when we think of deen, when we think of ibadah, of worship of Allah, then we think of salah, we think of coming to the masjid, we think of recitation of the Quran, we think of dhikr of Allah, we think of giving charity. And most definitely, most certainly all of this is included within deen, within Islam, within ibadah. These are all very virtuous, very meritorious acts of worship of Allah.

However, ibadah or deen is not restricted to these acts, to these actions, but rather it extends far, far beyond. In the ayah which I recited before you, Allah mentions:

"Today I have completed your deen for you."

Hence, for any situation that we find ourselves in in life, definitely in the Quran and in the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, we will find direction, we will find navigation, we will find guidance.

The Prophet's ﷺ Engagement with Society

If we look at the life of the Prophet ﷺ, then we see that his life was not restricted to the masjid. Yes, he would spend a lot of time in the masjid. Yes, he would spend a lot of time worshipping Allah, performing salah. The Prophet ﷺ would stand for so long that his feet would begin to swell. So he would engage himself a lot in salah, in tilawah of Quran, in the dhikr of Allah.

But that was not all. Rather we see that the Prophet ﷺ would also take part in the happenings of society. How many a hadith you see, wherein the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم mention — various companions mention — that I was sick, the Prophet ﷺ came and he visited me. You see narrations which speak about how the Prophet ﷺ would go to the suq, to the marketplace.

The Hadith of the Food Merchant

There is the narration of Tirmidhi — one day the Prophet ﷺ happened to pass by a heap of food. So he placed his hand into that stack, into that heap of food.

The Prophet ﷺ noticed that on top everything was good, the grain looked perfect. But inside there was moisture, it was wet. So he asked the person, "Now what happened? Why is it that I am feeling this wetness deep down in the stack?" So the person said:

"The rain fell — some of the grain got wet." The Prophet ﷺ remarked:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 284)

"You should have placed that portion on top, so that when the purchaser comes, he can see that part of the food, and he can know, he can understand what he is buying. The one who deceives us is not from amongst us."

So the point that I was mentioning is that, look at how the Prophet ﷺ took part in things that happened around him — things that happened outside of the masjid also.

Hilf al-Fudul — The Pact of Virtue

If you look throughout the seerah, you see multiple instances wherein the Prophet ﷺ would work with the broader society, would work with the non-Muslim leaders who were in power at that time. You have the example of Hilf al-Fudul — very early on in the seerah, in the very early days in Makkah al-Mukarramah — when once a person from outside, a man from the tribe of Zubayd, had come to Makkah, and he came to sell his goods. So As ibn Wa'il, who was a very staunch enemy of Islam and the Muslims, he made a deal with him and he was treacherous — he deceived him, he didn't give him his due.

So this individual who had come to Makkah was extremely upset, and he went to many of the leaders of the Quraysh, after which — long story short — they gathered in the house of Abdullah ibn Jud'an, and they had a meeting to discuss what policies they should make, how they can deal with the situation which they were facing. From amongst those who partook in this meeting, in this Hilf al-Fudul, was Rasulullah ﷺ himself. These were all leaders of the Quraysh, but he himself made it a point to attend. And later on also, after he received nubuwwah, he used to mention:

(Seerah Ibn Hisham; also referenced in Dalail al-Nubuwwah of al-Bayhaqi)

"That pact, that contract that I witnessed in the house of Abdullah ibn Jud'an — if I was to have been invited to witness a similar incident now, even after I have received nubuwwah, I would definitely do so."

So Nabi ﷺ did not isolate himself. He did not shy away from taking part in what was going on in society at that time.

The Treaty with the Jewish Tribes of Madinah

You fast forward a number of years — post the migration of the Prophet ﷺ to Madinah al-Munawwarah. One of the first things that you see Nabi ﷺ did after coming into Madinah al-Munawwarah is he made a pact. He signed a treaty with the Jewish tribes that were residing around Madinah al-Munawwarah. You had the Banu Qaynuqa, you had the Banu Nadir, you had the Banu Qurayzah. These were three Jewish tribes that had settled around Madinah al-Munawwarah.

The Prophet ﷺ could have stayed in isolation. Him and his companions could have stuck to Masjid al-Nabawi. They could have stayed in their own bubble. But they did not do that. Nabi ﷺ made it a point to interact with these Jewish leaders, with these Jewish tribes. And he made it a point to sign a pact, to sign a treaty with them for the benefit, for the greater good of society, so that there would be peace, there would be aman in that land.

Sulh al-Hudaybiyah — The Treaty of Hudaybiyah

You fast forward a number of years after this — in the sixth year after hijrah, after the migration — you have the famous Sulh al-Hudaybiyah, which many of us are familiar with, when the Prophet ﷺ and the companions رضي الله عنهم came with the intention of performing Umrah, but they were stopped outside of Makkah in a place called Hudaybiyah. And the mushrikun, the leaders of the Quraysh, they said, "We're not going to allow you to come in. We're not going to allow you to perform Umrah this year."

At that time, there was the famous Sulh al-Hudaybiyah, the treaty of Hudaybiyah which was signed — which was a very, very one-sided treaty. There were conditions in there which were completely and totally unfavorable to Rasulullah ﷺ and to the Muslims. In fact, Umar رضي الله عنه came running and said, "Ya Rasulallah, أَلَسْنَا عَلَى الْحَقِّ وَهُمْ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ؟ Are we not upon the truth, and these people are upon falsehood? أَلَسْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا؟ Are you not truly the Messenger of Allah? Why should we subscribe to these types of conditions? We are upon the truth. Why can't we stand up for our rights?"

But you still see that the Prophet ﷺ accepted those conditions, because he understood that there is greater good in this. And two years later, in the eighth year after hijrah, you see Fath Makkah — that same city, Makkah al-Mukarramah, where Rasulullah ﷺ was not allowed to enter in the sixth year. In the eighth year he entered, and he entered as the conqueror of Makkah al-Mukarramah.

And then once Makkah was conquered, the Prophet ﷺ was able to enact the laws that Allah had revealed to him:

All the different laws that Allah had revealed and sent down — these were enacted after the conquest of Makkah al-Mukarramah. But up until that point — which was very late in the life of the Prophet ﷺ — time and again, I've mentioned before you three incidents: Hilf al-Fudul, the treaty with the Jews, as well as Sulh al-Hudaybiyah. We see that the Prophet ﷺ was interacting with the broader society. He was working with those who were in power at that time, for the greater good of the entire society, of the entire community.

Muslims as a Minority: Civic Engagement and Voting

Likewise, we as Muslims here in this country — as we are a minority — we cannot exist in a bubble. But rather we have to interact with the greater society. We have to abide by the laws of the government. As citizens of this country, we are obliged. From a dini perspective also, we are not allowed to do anything which is illegal, which goes against the laws of the country that we are living in.

However, there are certain opportunities that Allah gives us. There are certain opportunities that we have, as citizens of this country, to voice our opinions. When we are not happy with certain things, we have these opportunities — like the elections coming up in this upcoming week. This is a chance that we have been given to voice our opinions, that we see so much of zulm, so much of oppression taking place on a global scale, as well as here nationally within our country. This is an opportunity when we can raise our voice, when we can speak up, and we can make it known to those who are in power that we are not happy with what is going on. We want change. We as Muslims want change.

When Muslims will speak up, when Muslims will get together, they will vote, they will partake in what is happening in society — then that sends a very loud message to those who are in charge. Then they realize: we need to care for the Muslims. We need to watch out. We need to look out for the Muslims.

For at the end of the day, every single person running for office is after the votes. Whether they are running for the first time, or whether they are running for re-election, they need the votes. Otherwise they are not going to win that seat of power. So they will do anything that it takes to get people's votes. Whoever they see are voting for them — whichever groups, whichever denominations are voting for them in large numbers — they will work with them. They will make it a point to work with them, because they need the votes at the end of the day in order to win.

So when they see thousands of Muslims, millions of Muslims coming out to vote — we have more than 4 million Muslims that are residing currently in this country — now they see these large numbers. Yes, many of them may not be eligible to vote. But still there are thousands and thousands of people who are eligible to vote. Just in our local county here, we have over 80,000 Muslims who are registered to vote. And there are many other thousands who could have registered to vote who simply didn't do so. But nonetheless, it is still a large number. And now any politician seeing this huge number of people voting — obviously it is going to trigger them, it is going to make them realize that we have to work with the Muslims. We have to start making policies which are favorable to the Muslims.

One is you have the national election which is taking place, which is widely followed by millions of people. But then you also have our local elections which are taking place, and this is something which has a direct impact on each and every single one of us. It has a direct impact on our families. It has a direct impact on our children. How many of us have children that are going to public school currently? What type of policies are made? What type of education? What type of things the teachers are allowed to teach the children? The curriculum, the accommodations for us, for our children with regards to Eid, with regards to Jumu'ah — all of this, we have an opportunity, alhamdulillah, to vote, to make our voice heard. That we as Muslims care about this. We want to work with those who are in power. We don't want to do anything which is illegal. We cannot do anything which is illegal. But within our bounds, the opportunity that Allah has given us, within those bounds, we will take whatever action we can.

Voting is an Ijtihadi Matter — Respect Differences

One more point that I want to add is that, regardless of whoever we vote for — understand that this is not a black and white matter. This is not something where there is only one answer. You may see it as: this candidate is the perfect choice, this is the choice, this is the person that I want to vote for, end of story. But understand — the person sitting next to you may have a completely different opinion. And that is fine. This is an ijtihadi issue. Everyone has a different view. Everyone has their own understanding. Different people are looking at different aspects.

Every single Muslim at the end of the day only wants good for the ummah. It is inconceivable to think that any Muslim who has an iota of iman in their heart would want to cause harm to the Muslims, either globally or locally. Every single Muslim is a well-wisher for Islam and the Muslims.

Within one family, you may have people who are voting for different individuals. Maybe the father is voting for someone, the mother is voting for someone else, the children are voting for different people. Alhamdulillah, it is fine. There is no need to call one another names. There is no need to write long messages attacking one another.

Our duty, our responsibility, is that we read our Salat al-Istikhara. We wake up for tahajjud. We make dua to Allah. We perform our Salat al-Fajr in jama'ah. We participate in the Qunut al-Nazila. We make our dua, and then we go out and we vote.

"Ya Allah, this is what I think is best. Ya Allah, I've done my research. I've looked into the various candidates. I've looked at their policies. This is what I feel. Ya Allah, I put my trust in You now."

What is going to happen tomorrow? What policies they are going to make? What laws they are going to pass after they come into office? This is something which we don't know. How often we hear in these days these statements: "But what if this person does this? What if this person does that?" This "what if" is not the statement of a believer. Nabi ﷺ says:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 6441)

"Do not say: 'If only I had done such and such, it would have been thus and so.' Rather say: 'Allah decreed, and what He willed He did.'"

What is going to happen tomorrow, only Allah knows. But what we have power over is the current. We can look at the past. We can look at the track record of different candidates. We can look at what they are currently telling us, what they are presenting before us, what promises they are making. And insha'Allah, we vote for them, we put our tawakkul, our reliance in Allah.

Beyond the Vote: Our Connection with Allah

The last thing that I want to mention is beyond this. After we vote, our mindset — what our deen teaches us is:

(Referenced by scholars in connection with the athar of Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما; see Ma'arif al-Quran of Mufti Shafi'i with reference to al-Bahr al-Muhit)

"The way you are, the way you behave, the way your morals and character are, the way your relationship is with Allah — that is exactly how Allah will appoint leaders over you."

There is a beautiful athar of Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما, which Mufti Shafi'i rahimahullah mentions in his Ma'arif al-Quran, with reference to al-Bahr al-Muhit, wherein Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما used to say:

(Athar of Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما, referenced in Ma'arif al-Quran of Mufti Shafi'i with reference to al-Bahr al-Muhit of Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi)

"When Allah is pleased with a nation, Allah will appoint such leaders over them who will be good for them, who will be well-wishers for them, who will do things which will be to their benefit. And when Allah is angry with a nation — when Allah is angry with a people — then He will appoint such individuals who will have no mercy upon them, no mercy upon their young ones, upon their weak ones, and they will have no respect for those who are elderly in society either."

So our connection with Allah is even more important than our votes. Yes, we want the oppression which is happening across the globe to end. And yes, we want to vote for such individuals who we hope insha'Allah will be a means of ending what is going on. But at the end of the day, everything rests in the hands of Allah.

When we will ensure that our connection with Allah is strong, when we will ensure that we are punctual in the masjid, we are punctual with our Salat al-Fajr in jama'ah — we talk about voting, we talk about this candidate implementing this change and that change. But every single morning, for over a year now, every morning the imam in Fajr is making dua for the Muslims across the globe. How many of us are present to say ameen to those duas? This is what will bring true change. This is what will bring immediate change. This is a direct link that we have, where we are calling out directly to Allah.

So when we will strengthen our connection with Allah, with the masjid, we will be punctual insha'Allah in our Salat al-Fajr with jama'ah, participating in the Qunut al-Nazila which takes place every morning. And we will do such actions which will be a means of drawing the mercy of Allah. Insha'Allah we will see that Allah will give us such leaders who will be a means of mercy, who will look at the entire ummah of the Prophet ﷺ with an eye of mercy.

The Arabic proverb is well known, and I'll conclude with this:

"Your actions — your leaders. The way you are, that is exactly how Allah will appoint people over you."

Closing Du'a

I make dua that Allah guides each and every single one of us to vote for those individuals who will be a means of bringing about positive change for our country as well as for the entire globe. May Allah protect us from all harm and allow whatever is best to happen. Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Announcements

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Beginning next Friday, November 8th, the Jumu'ah timings will be adjusted as follows due to daylight savings. The first salah: the English talk will start at 12:00pm and the iqamah will be at 12:25pm. The second salah: the talk will start at 1:00pm and the iqamah will be at 1:30pm.

Save the date for our 7th Annual Winter Intensive, taking place Saturday, December 21st through Monday, December 23rd. Registration is now available on our website. Speakers include Dr. Shadi, Dr. Humaan, as well as our own Darussalam ulama.

Sunday School weekend classes for boys and girls ages 6 through 16 — registration is currently open. Students will be engaged in a curriculum that covers du'as, hadith, adab, sunan, as well as recitation of the Quran. You can register at masjidds.org.

Masjid Isa in Addison is hosting their annual fundraiser at Shalimar Banquets, Friday, November 15th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. You can purchase your tickets on the way out.

Please join us for our weekly programs which include Team Fajr, taking place tomorrow after Salat al-Fajr. Fajr iqamah is at 6:15am. We have a special guest for Fajr insha'Allah — Sheikh Yusuf Bakir, who is the youth director of Valley Ranch Islamic Center. We also have our weekly Tuesday Tafsir, continuing from Surah Fussilat every Tuesday after Salat al-Isha. And we have our weekly Urdu Seerah program every Thursday after Salat al-Isha.

These are du'a requests for the Muslims of Palestine, of Lebanon, as well as the entire Ummah. All those who are sick within the Ummah — may Allah grant them shifa kamilah. And those who have passed away — may Allah grant them Jannat al-Firdaws. Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.