Bilal ibn Rabah, The Voice of Justice | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Sh. Yaser Birjas

The Guidance of the Quran

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us in Ramadan when he said شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ. It is the month of Ramadan in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed the Quran. And the Quran was revealed for a purpose and that purpose he said subhanahu wa ta'ala الم ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ. This is the book he said subhanahu wa ta'ala لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ. There is absolutely no doubt in it. Why? What is the purpose of it? guidance for the righteous ones.

And brothers and sisters for that purpose Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given a command for the whole humanity. For the believers particularly, shouldn't they reflect on the Quran? Why? What's the point of reflecting on the Quran? So we can learn from it. So we can reflect on the ayat. Why? To find that guidance so we can live the life that is meant to be. The way Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to live in this world.

The Criteria of Honor

Brothers and sisters one of those ayat that we reflect on as we come into the black history month. Allah tabaraka wa ta'ala said:

O mankind O people. We've created you from a male and a female. Simple message. Very clear. No ambiguity. No arguing over this matter. Absolutely clear. You all were made from man and woman. A male and female. And we made you into peoples and nations and tribes so that you might get to know each other. So we could learn from one another. So we can coordinate and cooperate and whatever humanity needs to get together for for the better good. And then he said subhanahu wa ta'ala the criteria that by which everybody need to look for honoring themselves. By what? Indeed. That those are the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the most righteous of you.

Brothers and sisters that is the criteria of honor in this world. Among human beings. Among people. Those are most righteous. Those are closest to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. No color of your skin. No your technology. None of your bloodline. None of these things would matter. In reality would never matter except in your own heads. In reality it doesn't make any difference. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says indeed. The most honorable among you all are those are most righteous. May Allah make us some of them.

Reflection on Current Times

Brothers and sisters as I was really trying to prepare a khutbah on the subject since it is indeed commemorating the black history month in this country. I was thinking about the history of the suffering and discrimination, patience, and the struggle of a human dignity as it's remembered in our time specifically by our brothers and sisters the African-American community in America. And as I was preparing for this I went to check on the news if there is anything I need to pay attention to and subhanAllah I was shocked and surprised to read in the news about the head of our state, the head of the country, and when he shared a post and you can talk about the highest executive position the nation sharing an extremely racist video that an AI generated depicting former president and his wife Obama and his wife as apes in a jungle. And then by noon today it was removed because of the backlash.

I was just reflecting on this trying to understand what kind of really moral backgrounds we are in right now in this society. How low are we gonna keep going down? We've seen what's came out what of the Epstein files and how society is just falling apart completely subhanAllah. But at that level when everybody is trying to commemorate and acknowledge the suffering of the African-American community, Muslims and non-Muslims as a matter of fact, and then you have unfortunately the people who are supposed to bring us together they're dividing us with these kind of things. What a disheartening message. What really a so sad reality of the society that we live in, the state we live in, instead of trying to bring people together in times of chaos, we're actually fueling it with more and more. For God knows what purpose people have in their mind and their hearts about the subject.

Bilal: The Voice of Justice

Brothers and sisters, I want really for us to highlight the concept, this concept for us as Muslims. The contribution of the African-American community and Muslims from the very beginning, before discrimination was a thing in this country, Islam came to fight that. And the story of Bilal is the best example for us. He is the voice of justice that never dies.

And when we speak about Bilal ibn Rabah, he was that very weak man, a slave in Mecca. What rights did he have? What hope he had? What kind of strength he would have in front of those powerful people of Mecca and his master at the time. And when Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam came with the message, لا إله إلا الله, there is no God worthy of worship but Allah, this man immediately saw hope in that message. In the most difficult, most vulnerable, most distressing situation, he found hope.

Brothers and sisters, it sounds familiar today. It sounds familiar today. With the fall of the fake Western values and civilization, as we see it crumbling in front of our eyes with these powerful people, what they do behind closed doors on their islands and so on, people are lost. They're so distressed. They're looking for hope somewhere else. What else can I believe in right now? I can't even see anything to be right. That is the moment when Bilal was looking for something. How could I even justify this? What justifies what they're doing to me? How can I accept the situation that I'm in right now? Then comes Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam and he says, you shouldn't be accepting that. You have a higher master you serve, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to which Bilal radiyallahu anhu, he understood that there is a true message. It's an unbelievable message.

The Torture and Steadfastness

And for believing in that message, he was tortured. He was dragged in the heat of Mecca on his back, on his chest. They put rocks on his chest. And he was asked to do one thing, renounce Islam. Renounce this man. Curse at the man that you believe to be a prophet. And publicly, for people to see and watch and threatening others who dare even to think. And he kept saying the same thing, أحد أحد. I believe in that one God and only one God. That's all what he was repeating. أحد أحد. أحد أحد.

And at some point, when they gave up on him, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu ta'ala anhu comes and he asks his master, he says, how much do you want for this man? He goes, whatever. And he gave a number. That was considered a staggering number, like five or ten dirhams. And he gave it to him. And the man laughed at Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. He said, if you ask for a penny, I will give it to you. He goes, if you ask for a mountain of gold, I will give it to you. The value of this man for me, it's not with cash. It's not with gold and silver. It's with his heart. The heart of conviction. Believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to this level that he's willing to go through all this suffering for his, for the case that he's believing in, radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

And because of that, this man, Bilal ibn Rabah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, he became Sayyiduna, as Umar bin Khattab radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, when he said, أبو بكر سيدنا، وأعتق سيدنا. Abu Bakr was our master. And he freed from slavery, our master too. Bilal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

The Honor of the Adhan

Bilal, my dear brothers and sisters, was preferred among all the sahaba, they were in Mecca and Medina, to be the official mu'adhin of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Can you imagine? Sayyidina Ibn Zaid, he had that dream about the Adhan. He comes to the Prophet, says, I'm excited, ya Rasulallah, I heard this, I saw this in my dream. And of course, you'll be honored if the Prophet says, well, why don't you start calling the Adhan then? Instead, he says, call Bilal. Bilal has a better voice, stronger voice, he can deliver the message better than you. Bilal, call the Adhan.

When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he went back to Mecca and it was time for Salah, guess who climbed the Kaaba? Who climbed the Kaaba and called the Adhan for the entire Mecca to hear it for the first time ever? Allahu Akbar. What an honor that Bilal was given radiyallahu ta'ala anhu. Did it matter the color of his skin? Did it matter the fact that he was coming from a slave? Did it matter? Whatever signs of torture on his body, radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, never. Those are now badges of honor that he was carrying around, radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, for his sacrifice, for his deen.

Brothers and sisters, that's what Bilal did, radiyallahu ta'ala anhu. He went through all these difficulties and he continued to fight with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

After the Prophet's Death

In some stories, it was mentioned that when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed, Bilal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, he decided to stop calling the Adhan for anybody. Abu Bakr said, where are you going? He goes, that's it, I'm done. I'm leaving. I'm going to go out. He said, why don't you call the Adhan for me? He says, no, I called the Adhan for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and that's enough. I'm not going to call the Adhan for anybody after the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And he chose to go to the front and went to the Sham, radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

There was one story said that one night, Bilal was coming back to Medina and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said that the Mu'adhin at Fajr somehow was a bit delayed. So Bilal, the nature of being a Mu'adhin kicked in. He couldn't wait until the time passes. So he got up and he called the Adhan at Fajr, to which the entire population of Medina woke up crying, hearing the voice of Bilal, remembering the days of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. His voice brings memories. His voice brings legacy, brings so much, radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, for the people of Medina. That was Bilal, radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

The Final Message of Equality

As you can see, my dear brothers and sisters, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says in the deen, in the last message, in the last khutbah, لا فضل لعربي على أعجمي، ولا أبيض على أسود إلا بالتقوى. Like there is no really favoritism here, no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or a white over a black, except with righteousness and piety. That what makes you superior in the eye of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, your level of connection with him subhanahu wa ta'ala.

A Call to Action for Our Community

Brothers and sisters, we have to understand and differentiate between what Islam teaches and what the Muslims are doing, unfortunately. So as we preach this message, I want you to understand, as a community, we're not pure, we're not immune of that. And that's why we need to go back again to the pure message of the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the practice of the Sahaba radiyallahu ta'ala anhum. Making sure that we don't fall into the trap of this society and the pitfalls of this culture that we live in, unfortunately.

SubhanAllah, one of my early teachers and mentors for many years, for many years, subhanAllah, he was actually dark-skinned, he was black, you could say. And I never noticed that he was black until I came to the United States. Wallahi, I never even noticed that about him. But when I came here, I'm just like, wait a minute, my teacher was actually black. And that never crossed the mind. Simply because all what he was saying what matters to me, his heart, his actions, his knowledge, his ilm, his tarbiyah, the purity of his heart, and he's still, alhamdulillah, my mentor until this day. But that's something we need to make sure that as a community, we don't fall for this fitnah, ya jama'a. We need to uphold to the principles of the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. We need to acknowledge the contribution of our brothers and sisters, the African-American community here, to Islam particularly, because they came with Islam way before the immigrant community arrived in this country.