Jumu'ah Khutbah - Shaykh Abdul Hadi

Khutbah Opening

أَمَّا بَعْد — فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

Being Thankful for Allah's Blessings

Brothers and sisters, we have to be thankful to Allah for His countless blessings, mercy and bounties upon us. Even if we want to count the bounties of Allah upon us, we are unable to count them — such as health, free time, wealth, family life and Iman. These are all from the bounties of Allah. So if we want to be thankful to Allah for all these bounties, these ni'mat, then we have to use them in an appropriate manner according to the teaching of the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

If you have good health, then say to yourself: let us wake up early in the morning to pray Tahajjud, for example, or to fast nafl — especially in this month, the month of Sha'ban — according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And if you have free time, say to yourself: let us read a portion of the Quran Majeed or do dhikr, because you have free time.

And if you have a good family life and children, then provide them with a proper Islamic environment at home, provide facilities to educate them, and try to raise them with tarbiyah Islamiyyah according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the methodology of the Sahabah, Ridwanullah upon them all. And if you have wealth, then say to yourself: let me help some people — those who are poor or needy, those who have nothing to eat or drink, who are starving — provide for them some food, some clothes, because you have wealth.

The Month of Sha'ban: Preparing for Ramadan

Similarly, in the month of Sha'ban, our Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to fast more than in any other month as nafl after Ramadan. And the reason for that is that we have to prepare — mentally, physically, and spiritually — for the coming month, which we will enter, insha'Allah, after just a few days.

Like a farmer before harvest, or a businessman before his trade, or a student before an examination — he will try to prepare. Similarly, we as Muslims have to prepare before the month of Ramadan, because Ramadan is a month to gain the pleasure of Allah, a month to gain extra reward from Allah, a month to show our kindness towards the needy and poor around the globe wherever we can, and a month of the Quran Majeed — which was revealed as the last and final book of Allah upon His last and final Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

So if we want to get extra reward in the month of Ramadan, then we have to prepare from now by setting a proper timetable for the coming month. How are we going to engage ourselves in extra ibadat in the coming month of Ramadan? Because it has been noticed that many of our brothers and sisters enter the month of Ramadan without any preparation, and perhaps this is the reason they spend the month of Ramadan as a routine, as a culture — more than as a month of ibadat, as a month of Quran Majeed.

So my request is: we are in the month of Sha'ban, very close to the month of Ramadan. We have to be thankful to Allah that we are receiving another Ramadan. Otherwise, in this masjid we have lost hundreds of our brothers and sisters during the pandemic — may Allah forgive them all. But for us, this should be like an alarm. We have to realize the bounty of Allah upon us.

And if we want to get maximum benefit from the coming month, from now there is a need to prepare ourselves. For example, from now you can set a proper timetable and ask your children as well. Because many of our valuable members of the masjid and community are saying: in the month of Ramadan we don't have time to read the Quran Majeed, we don't have time to go to the masjid even in the month of Ramadan, we don't have time to pray any nawafil even in the month of Ramadan.

My brothers, Ramadan is like a season for us as true believers, so we have to utilize it by preparing ourselves and setting a proper timetable for the coming month of Ramadan. May Allah give us the tawfiq and ability for understanding the teaching of the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and following the best. And may Allah forgive our brothers and sisters who have passed away, and may Allah cure our brothers and sisters who are suffering from any type of illness.

The Quran: Our Responsibilities Towards It

Brothers and sisters, we have to be thankful to Allah for the blessed month of Ramadan. In Ramadan, Allah revealed His final book, the Quran Majeed, upon His final and last Messenger, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam. The Quran Majeed was revealed in this month as a book of guidance — guidance for all mankind. The Quran Majeed was revealed as a criterion for understanding what is right and what is wrong, what we can do as Muslims and what we cannot do as Muslims. The Quran Majeed is the last and final message from Allah.

Therefore, towards the Quran Majeed we have a few responsibilities — not only in the month of Ramadan, but especially in the month of Ramadan, and indeed throughout our lifetime.

First: Recitation of the Quran Majeed

According to hadith, if any person recites a letter from the Quran Majeed, he will get at least 10 times the reward from Allah. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is saying: if any person recites from the Quran Majeed, he will get at least 30 times the reward. So you can imagine a brother or sister who is reading the whole Quran Majeed in the month of Ramadan — how much reward they will be entitled to. And there are many brothers and sisters who are reading more than once. This is the reward in the recitation of the Quran Majeed.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2910)

Second: Understanding the Quran Majeed

Because the Quran was revealed as a book of criterion — clear evidence for understanding Tawheed, for understanding the difference between Tawheed and Shirk, for understanding what is right for us as Muslims and what is wrong — the Quran Majeed is the criterion. Therefore we need to understand the teaching of the Quran Majeed, the message of Allah.

How are we going to understand this? There are many ways. One of them: if you can understand the Arabic language, you can enjoy it directly — you can understand the teaching of the Quran. But if, for some reason, you do not understand the Arabic language, still there is no excuse. You can understand the teaching of the Quran, the message of the Quran Majeed — there are many tafaseer available, meanings of the Quran Majeed available.

Third: Implementing the Quran Majeed

The Quran Majeed contains instructions given by Allah, the Creator, like a navigator to show us the way to Jannah, the straight path. So whenever we are reading the Quran Majeed, there are do's and don'ts. For certain things, Allah is saying to do — stop there, implement it on yourself, ask yourself: Allah is saying to do this thing, and I am not doing it. Or when you read something that is prohibited but we are doing it — then where is our Iman?

Implementation of whatever is in the Quran Majeed upon ourselves and upon our family members — this is the sign of those who truly believe in the Quran Majeed as the book of Allah. There should not be any contradiction between the teaching of the Quran and our practical life. Otherwise, some brothers are reading the Quran Majeed but are not ready to implement its teaching upon themselves or their family members — so where is the Iman there? This is very, very important for us: we have to implement whatever we are reading in the Quran Majeed.

Fourth: Conveying the Message of the Quran

Another responsibility relating to the Quran Majeed is to convey this message to others. There are hundreds of brothers and sisters who want to understand what the Quran is, they want to understand the message of Allah revealed upon His last and final Messenger. Therefore it is our duty to convey and pass on this message to others.

Setting a Timetable for Ramadan

As I said before, before Ramadan we need to set up a proper timetable. Because, according to hadith, as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says: when Ramadan comes, the doors of Heaven will be opened, and the doors of Hellfire will be closed, and Shaytan will be chained.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1899; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1079)

And the best among you, as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, is he who learns the Quran and teaches it to others.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5027)

Utilize this because this is from the bounty of Allah, so respect it and make a proper timetable before Ramadan.