Importance of the Qur'an - Br Samir Said

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomsoever He misguides, none can guide him.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.

The Greatest Miracle of the Prophet ﷺ

Musa (AS) was given the staff, amongst other miracles. Isa (AS), by the permission of Allah, was able to heal and bring life back to the dead. He was also able to speak as a newborn child. Sulayman (AS) was able to control the jinn and was able to speak with animals.

Likewise, Muhammad ibn Abdillah, Rasulullah ﷺ, also received various miracles. And without a doubt, the greatest miracle that Rasulullah ﷺ was blessed with was the revelation of the Qur'an — the revelation of the words of Allah. The actual words of Allah.

Now throughout this khutbah, I want you all, brothers and sisters, to keep this in mind: that we will be talking about not just any book. We will be talking about the words of Allah.

Why Was the Qur'an Revealed?

Now, the question is: why was this Qur'an revealed? Was it revealed to be put in high places at our homes, on top of the cupboard, out of respect? Is that why? Is it to be read in ceremonies in order to bless that gathering? Is it so that we can just leave it in our cars to protect our car or our belongings? Was it revealed so that we can wear it around our necks for protection? No, brothers and sisters. Allah answers this question in the Qur'an.

He says: Alif Lam Meem. That is the Book in which there is no doubt — guidance for those who are God-fearing. Al-Muttaqeen.

And He says in Surah Taha:

He says: Taha. We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed, but only as a reminder for those who fear Allah.

This is the Qur'an, my brothers and sisters. And among other verses that Allah describes and tells us about the reason for its revelation — ultimately it is for guidance. As guidance.

Our Relationship with the Qur'an

Now, another question, my brothers and sisters, that I want us all to ask ourselves: What is our relationship with the Qur'an? What is our relationship with the words of Allah?

Let's ask ourselves — when was the last time we just picked it up and started reading? When was the last time we woke up in the morning and thought, "I have to read Qur'an today. Let me read a few chapters of the Qur'an," even for a few minutes? Who amongst us has a specified time in which he reads Qur'an? Or a specified amount that he reads every day? This is how we can judge our relationship with the words of Allah.

Now, we hear a lot of talks going around, a lot of speeches, and a lot of reminders. But ultimately it all comes down to one thing — it all comes down to the words of Allah. It comes down to this. Because without this we are nothing. We will never achieve any success in this world or in the Hereafter without this — without the words of Allah. There is no way.

Now, we can have many many talks about various things in the deen. But it all comes down to the teachings of Allah in the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ in his Sunnah.

How can we think that we will achieve anything in this world or in the Hereafter without having any relationship with this Qur'an? There is no way. Absolutely no way. We ask Allah for a lot of things when we are in distress and when we are in need. But Allah has given us all the answers right here. Why do we then look for answers elsewhere? It's all in the Qur'an and in the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, which is an embodiment of the Qur'an. As Aisha (RA) says in the hadith — that the Prophet ﷺ was like a walking Qur'an.

And Allah mentions in the Qur'an a very powerful ayah — something that we should always reflect on:

He says: And the Messenger said, "O my Lord! Indeed my people have taken this Qur'an as abandoned." They have abandoned this Qur'an. They do not reflect upon the Qur'an.

Now, this ayah doesn't say they don't read the Qur'an. But it says they have abandoned the Qur'an. They might be reading it, but to them it's just like any other book — it's read, and that's it. And that's if they even read.

And Allah also mentions in another ayah:

Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? Or are there locks upon their hearts?

Now, brothers and sisters, let's ask ourselves — are our hearts locked? Are our hearts locked such that we can't reflect and ponder upon the words of Allah? Let's judge ourselves, my brothers and sisters. Let's start reflecting upon our relationship with the words of Allah.

And Allah says:

Has the time not come for the hearts of the believers to be humble in the remembrance of Allah?

It is time, my brothers and sisters. It is time for us to change, to start reflecting upon what we read in this Qur'an, and to start realizing the importance and the weight of this Qur'an. We need to realize, my brothers and sisters, that this is not something light. This is not like any other book. This is the words of Allah. These are the words of the Almighty. The words of the Most Merciful. The words of the Most Gracious — of our Creator, Allah. This is something, my brothers and sisters, that we should always keep in mind.

The Weight of the Qur'an

Another powerful ayah — Allah says:

If We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and falling apart from the fear of Allah.

From the fear of Allah and the weight of the words of Allah. This, my brothers and sisters, is how heavy and how important this Qur'an is. We ask Allah to give us the tawfiq and the ability to read and to reflect upon His words.

Second Part of the Khutbah

Dear brothers and sisters, now we have mentioned the importance and the weight of this Qur'an. And now I'd like to highlight the fact that without the Qur'an we're not going anywhere. There is no success in this life without this Qur'an. So we have to make sure that we start reading and acting upon the words of Allah.

The Promise of Rasulullah ﷺ

The Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith: "I have left you two things." And he says:

(Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik, Book 46, Hadith 3; also reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, Hadith 319)

He says: "I have left you two things. You will never go astray." Now this is a promise from Rasulullah ﷺ. He says you will never go astray as long as you hold on to these: the words of Allah and my Sunnah — the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. As long as we hold on to these two, as long as we always refer to these two, we will never fall astray.

This is a promise from Rasulullah ﷺ — that as long as we hold on to these two, as long as we follow these two in every aspect of our lives, then we will find success. We will never fall astray.

The Qur'an: For or Against You on the Day of Judgment

Now, for those brothers and sisters who have memorized the whole Qur'an — don't for a second think that this khutbah is not referring to you as well. No. There is even more of a burden for those who have memorized the Qur'an. Because this Qur'an on the Day of Judgment will either be an argument for you or an argument against you.

This Qur'an on the Day of Judgment, my brothers and sisters, will either be an argument for us or against us. Now let's ask ourselves — what about me? Is the Qur'an on the Day of Judgment going to be an argument for me or against me? Have I given the words of Allah their right? Am I really understanding the weight of this Qur'an? Am I giving it its due right? Will the Qur'an on the Day of Judgment be an argument for me? Let's all ask ourselves this question, my brothers and sisters.

The State of the Ummah

Now we see what is happening around the world to the Muslims and in the name of Islam as well. The whole reason, my brothers and sisters, can be summed up to one thing — what I mentioned earlier about us not being connected to the Qur'an, to the words of Allah — that we are not holding on to the Qur'an and the Sunnah. This is the whole reason, my brothers and sisters. As Allah mentioned in the Qur'an:

We have abandoned the Qur'an and the Sunnah. We have left it behind. We are not referring to the Qur'an and the Sunnah in our lives. And so we see what is happening to the ummah around the world.

The Story of Umar (RA) and the Servant-Governor

Now I'd like to mention, my brothers and sisters, to finalize — one hadith that is collected in the Sunan of Imam al-Darimi, where Umar (RA) had appointed a man to govern a certain area. And Umar (RA) asked this man, this governor, to appoint someone else over a smaller area within that area.

So Umar (RA), being Umar — always checking up on his people — he asked this governor: "Who did you appoint over this piece of land?" And this governor says to him: "O Umar, I have appointed one of our servants." Now Umar (RA) is surprised. A servant? And he says, yes.

Then Umar (RA) asks: "Why? How come you appointed a servant over this area?" And listen to the answer, my brothers and sisters. He didn't say: he's a scholar, he's the most knowledgeable amongst us, he's the one who prays the most, he prays all night, fasts all day. No. He says: "Because this man reads the Qur'an, he memorizes the Qur'an, and — not just that — he practices the Qur'an in his life. And he also knows the rules of inheritance."

Now Umar (RA) smiled. And he says: "Indeed, because the Prophet ﷺ said:"

(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 269 — also reported in Sunan al-Darimi)

"Indeed, Allah raises people with this Book — this Qur'an — and He lowers others." All because of this Qur'an.

This man was a servant, but because he read the Qur'an and applied the Qur'an in his life, he all of a sudden becomes a governor — a leader. From being a servant to being a leader. All because of one thing: this Qur'an.

How true are the words of Rasulullah ﷺ — Allah raises people with this Qur'an, and He also lowers people because of this Qur'an.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allah to fill our hearts with the light of His words and to make His words the most beloved words to us. We also ask Him to give us the ability to act upon what has been revealed in the Qur'an and upon the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Ameen, Ameen.

عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ. فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ، وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.