Unity & Brotherhood - Br. Semir Said

Unity & Brotherhood

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Brothers and sisters, today's khutbah will be about a topic — a topic that unfortunately our ummah is lacking today. A topic that is very, very much needed.

The topic, my brothers and sisters, is about love and unity. About brotherhood. This love and unity, my brothers and sisters, is something that has been mentioned in many verses and in many ahadith from Rasulullah ﷺ. One of those verses, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

He says: hold on to the rope of Allah all together, and do not disunite. Now this verse, my brothers and sisters — in this verse Allah azza wa jal is ordering us and He is also forbidding us. He is ordering us to unite and to hold on together to the rope of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And He is prohibiting us and forbidding us to disunite.

Brothers and sisters, we are all a family. We are all brothers and sisters who love one another for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This love is stronger than any type of love. This bond and relationship is stronger than any type of bonds and relationships. Why? Because it is related to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is done purely for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. No worldly matters, no benefits in any way. It is purely for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Believers Are Like One Body

The Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6011; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2586)

The example of the believers in their love and mercy towards one another is like one body. If one part of this body is hurt or feels pain or complains, then the rest of the body feels it and it will affect the rest of the body. The whole body is affected because of one little small body part complaining.

The Prophet ﷺ has given us this example to show us how this ummah should be. If one Muslim, if one of us complains on the other side of the world, then this should affect us, my brothers and sisters. This is true love. This is real brotherhood in Islam.

You Will Not Truly Believe Until You Love One Another

And in another hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 54)

He says ﷺ: you will not enter paradise until you truly believe. And you will not truly believe until you love one another. And then he gives the Sahaba a practical solution. He says to them: shall I not teach you, shall I not tell you of a thing — if you were to do it, you will truly build this relationship, you will truly love one another? The Sahaba said, yes, of course, Ya Rasulullah. He says: أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ بَيْنَكُمْ — spread salams amongst yourselves.

It is not difficult. Wallah, this is a very practical solution, my brothers and sisters. SubhanAllah, try this — give salam to someone that you don't know. Just give salam to someone that you don't know on the street. You are walking past, just give him salam. What happens? Instantly there is a smile. وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ — straight away you feel this connection. Why did you give him salam? Simply because he is your family member when it comes to this Islam. He is part of your family. Not because he is related to you in any way. Not because he is from the same country or the same tribe. No. Simply because he shares with you one thing:

See, my brothers and sisters, simple things. The Prophet ﷺ didn't give a very difficult task for us to do. Very simple — spread salam and peace amongst yourselves.

Love for Allah's Sake: A Cause for Entering Paradise

Also, my brothers and sisters, this love is something that could be the cause for us to enter paradise. We know many ahadith where the Prophet ﷺ tells us about the virtues of this love, of this brotherhood, this bond. In one of them — the very famous hadith — the Prophet ﷺ mentions that there will be seven types of people who will be under the shade of Allah on a day when there is no shade but His shade. And one of these seven, he says ﷺ:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 660; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1031)

Two who love one another solely for the sake of Allah — in that they gather, and in that they depart. They love one another, my brothers and sisters, simply for the sake of Allah. No worldly benefits or any type of material gain. It is simply for the sake of Allah. These people will be under the shade of Allah when there is no shade but His. He didn't mention they gave a large amount of money to charity, or they did some huge thing, or they took part in jihad or some grand action. No. Something very, very simple. They loved one another solely for the sake of Allah.

Called Out on the Day of Judgment

In another hadith — brothers and sisters, I want you to ponder on this — the Prophet ﷺ says that on the Day of Judgment it will be called out:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2566)

Where are those who loved one another for My glory? Where are they? Imagine, my brother and sister — you are called out. On this day, when you see people being tortured according to the sins they committed, people drowning in their sweat as the Prophet ﷺ mentioned in another hadith, and you, my brother and sister, will be called out. And what then? The Prophet ﷺ says that these people will be under the shade of Allah. Picture this in front of you — you see the situation of the Day of Judgment, and you are called out, singled out from all of the people around you, and you are taken and allowed into the shade of Allah. Simply because you had one brother that you loved for the sake of Allah and for nothing else. Simply because he is your brother in deen, your brother in Islam.

Those Whom the Prophets Will Envy

In another hadith, collected in the Sunan of Abu Dawood, the Prophet ﷺ says: amongst Allah's servants, there are people who are neither Prophets nor Messengers. However, the Prophets and Messengers will be jealous of these people — not jealousy in a negative way, but a positive jealousy, called ghibta in Arabic. The Prophet ﷺ mentions that these people will be in manabir min nur — in elevated seats of light — and the Prophets and Messengers will look up to them and they will be jealous. Simply because they were people who loved one another for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

(Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith 3527)

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us the tawfiq and the ability to perform these acts, and to help us and to give us the ability to love one another solely for His sake.

Second Khutbah

Friends on the Day of Judgment

Dear brothers and sisters, I would like to remind myself and you about a specific verse. A verse that we sometimes hear, or some of us have even memorized. A verse that is very, very powerful. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

He says: Allah uses the word الْأَخِلَّاءُ — which is the plural of the word خَلِيل, meaning a very, very close companion and friend. He says: the closest of friends, on that day, will be enemies to one another — except for the people who had taqwa.

Now this ayah is often mentioned when people talk about the severity of the Day of Judgment. But I want to tackle this ayah from a different angle. Are they enemies on this day? Of course — people who don't have taqwa, when they are friends, they encourage one another to do wrong. Whereas those who have taqwa, who are real brothers in Islam, they encourage one another to do good. So on the Day of Judgment, that love — the fruit of that love — will show. They will see the fruit of that love, and they won't have that hatred amongst each other. This, my brothers and sisters, is the benefit of this love.

The Man of Paradise: A Clean Heart

And I will conclude with this hadith. One day Rasulullah ﷺ was sitting in a gathering with the Sahaba and he said to them: a man from the people of paradise will enter upon you. They turned around and saw a normal-looking man come in, his hair still dripping from his wudu. They didn't pay much attention to it. Another time, in another gathering, Rasulullah ﷺ said it again, and the same man walked through the door. A third time, Rasulullah ﷺ said it again, and the same man walked through the door.

Abdullah ibn Amr decided he had to find out about this man — why does the Prophet ﷺ say that this man is from the people of paradise while he is still alive? What does he do? So he decided to follow him, came to him, and spoke to him. Long story short — he spent the night in his house for three nights. At the end of that, he said to this man: look, the Prophet ﷺ said this about you. I haven't seen you do anything special. You don't pray extra. You don't spend the whole night in prayer. You don't fast every single day. So why did the Prophet ﷺ say this about you? What is it that you do?

He said: you are right. I don't pray extra. I am just a normal man. I pray my five daily prayers, I pray a little bit of the night, I don't spend the whole night praying, I fast some days and I break my fast some days. But there is one thing that I do. One simple thing that I do. Before I go to sleep, I make sure I fall asleep having forgiven every Muslim — every brother and sister of mine — that has done anything to me. I make sure my heart is clean from any ill feelings towards my brothers and sisters.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 12697)

And then he said: that is it. That is why. This simple action is why the Prophet ﷺ said that he will be from the people of Paradise while he is still alive.

Again, my brothers and sisters — very simple action. Not a huge thing. Not exhausting. A very small, simple thing. Every night before he went to sleep, he made sure his heart was clean.

We ask Allah to give us the ability to purify our hearts. We ask Allah to clean our hearts towards our fellow brothers and sisters.

Announcements

Just a few very important announcements. Firstly, please donate generously on your way out. This masjid relies on the will of Allah and your financial support so that we can keep providing the activities for the community.

As announced in previous weeks, every Friday after Jumu'ah, we will be holding a cake and snack stall outside both brothers' and sisters' entrances. All proceeds will go towards the bread factory project in Syria. Please visit the stalls on your way out and make a purchase.

We are currently recruiting volunteers to help out in the daily running of the Masjid. If you are interested, please visit the stalls outside and fill in the forms. Your help is very much appreciated.

Tonight's Urdu lecture will take place after Salatul Maghrib. This Saturday's lecture after Maghrib is entitled "And They Who Turn Away From Ill Speech", and will be delivered by Sheikh Abu Usama, inshallah.

The weekly Sisters' Aqeedah study session will be resuming this Monday from 10:30 until 1:30. These sessions are immensely beneficial and we encourage all sisters to attend, inshallah. No registration is required and the sessions are free. All sisters and children are welcome. Entrance is via door E.

Our food bank service urgently requires food donations. We are currently running low on cooking sauce, nappies, soup, coffee, and ketchup. Please leave your donations during office hours at the Masjid's reception, door C.

If you are struggling to find work and need help completing your CV or need interview skills, we are, alhamdulillah, now offering a service for you. GLMCC Job Club will be running every Monday starting from 20 April, with morning sessions for sisters and afternoon sessions for brothers. For more information, please come to the reception through door C.

Once again, please donate generously on your way out. Jazakallahu Khayran, inshallah.