Jumu'ah Khutbah (with Sign Language) - Shaykh Abdul Hadi

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، 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

The Worldly Concept of Success

Brothers and sisters, we all have a concept of success in our daily life — fauz, najah, kamiyabi — and according to the background and mentality of the individual, he or she will consider who is successful. For example, when we wake up in the morning and leave our house, if we see a sports car passing by, we may think that this is the sign of success. So if I can get a similar car, I will have achieved success in this life.

Someone else may be walking past a lavish house and think, according to his own understanding, that this is the sign of success, and if I could have a similar mansion I will be successful in this life. Likewise, if we see a wealthy person who can buy whenever he wants, whatever he likes, according to his desire, for his comfort and luxury, we may think this is the secret of success and if I have such wealth I too will consider myself successful in this life. If we see someone who is healthy and athletic we might see this as a sign of success, and similarly, someone who is famous in this dunya because of his position or social status may think that this is the sign of success.

But all these are concepts of success in our daily life only. They may be good in some ways, but this is not real and permanent success. He who has these signs cannot be considered a successful person in the real terms.

The Quranic Definition of Real Success

Let us read the Quran, which is the point of reference for all of us, to find out who is really successful according to the teaching of the Quran. In chapter 3, verse 185, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described who is the successful. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: he who is protected from the Hell-Fire on the Day of Judgment — he is the successful. That success is permanent and real.

Our belief, our iman, is that we are all going to die sooner or later — young, old, male, female, rich, poor, Muslim or non-Muslim. We are going to die, and we will be asked by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the Creator, about our deeds in this life, how we spent this life, and accordingly we will be given the result: either punishment in the Fire of Hell — may Allah protect us all from Hell-Fire — or reward in the form of Jannah — may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us all entitled for Jannah.

All other things in this life are considered temporary, and they are an enjoyment for a limited period. One may have wealth but not health; even he cannot eat his own food as he likes. One may be very famous for the outsider, but inside his own family life is miserable — he is facing many difficulties and challenges. One may have a luxury lifestyle but cannot sleep in comfort at night and depends on medications to get a good night's sleep. For the outsider he has everything, and in that sense whatever we think is success, it is not really the case.

But he who is successful on the Day of Judgment, on the Day of Resurrection, will have achieved real and permanent success. He will be the guest of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment — you can imagine this — and he can have whatever he desires, even more than his imagination, in Jannah, even things we cannot imagine getting there.

The Two Conditions for Success in the Hereafter

So how are we going to be successful in the Hereafter, after our death? There are two basic conditions for that: strong belief — Iman — and righteous good deeds — Amal-e-Saleh. As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Surah al-Buruj, verse 11, that great success — for those who believe and do righteous deeds — will be to enter into Gardens, and that is the great salvation, the fulfillment of all desires.

This success depends on our practical life here in this world. If a person obeys Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and His Messenger, he will get this success, as Allah says in Surah al-Ahzab, verses 70 and 71:

O you who believe, fear Allah and say a strong word — that will rectify your deeds and forgive your sins — and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory. Whoever obeys Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment — a real success.

The Challenge of Obedience in Practice

But this is a big task and requires sincere effort to obey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and His Messenger. Otherwise, many of our respected brothers and sisters — although born in Muslim families and claiming to be true believers — are still not willing to obey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and His orders and commandments. They want to enjoy according to their own desire as they like in their daily life, and similarly they don't want to follow the Prophet — they either ignore it totally or they pick and choose.

How many are fasting — even this is good — but we are not ready to give people their rights, their haq. How many from us are ready to give the Islamic right to their wives? And then, as a conclusion, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned that these are the boundaries of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — fixed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — this is not according to our desire, to whom we want to give and how much we want to give. Mainly for females, we are not ready to give them their right according to Sharia, according to the Quran, according to the Sunnah of Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wasallam. We are making many excuses, while Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says these are the boundaries set by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the Garden of Jannah, and that is the great attainment.

So if we follow the teaching of the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam with true beliefs, then we will be entitled to that success. This does not mean that there will be no test for them, because this life is full of tests. Tests can come to anyone regardless of his Iman or his practical life. For example, the Messengers of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — the most righteous of people — also faced tests about their wealth, their families, their physical health, and many other things. But they remained firm upon their Iman.

Indeed, those who have said "Our Lord is Allah" and then remained on the right course — the angels descend upon them saying: "Do not fear and do not grieve, but receive good tidings of Paradise which you were promised." What a great achievement — that angels will come to support them, to help them. But the condition is Iman and remaining upon that Iman.

Dangers of Shirk and Weak Iman

Otherwise we will fail in this world and the Hereafter — especially those who did not believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as they should have, or whose Iman had been weak, or who filled their Iman with shirk. As unfortunately, many of our respected brothers and sisters — maybe with understanding or without understanding — they associate someone with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. My brothers, we have to remember that shirk is a great sin; Allah will never forgive the mushrik unless he sincerely makes tawbah before his death.

Our Responsibilities: Salah, Earnings, and Children

There should be no weakness also in our Ibadah, or in earning, or in matters relating to our family lives and our children — we have to be careful. Otherwise we will become losers in the Hereafter. How many of us don't bother about our daily prayers, our Salat? They are careless about their Salat and don't even know how to pray properly. Similarly, some don't bother about their income — their only task is to earn as much as they can regardless of whether it is haram or halal, lawful or unlawful according to Sharia.

And some don't bother about their own children — their ta'lim, their tarbiyah, their upbringing. We are not ready to understand our responsibilities towards our own children. We are not ready to provide them the environment which suits them to learn something from the Deen. Some parents proudly say, "My child is, mashAllah, a doctor, dentist, lawyer, alhamdulillah." But if you ask whether he understands the Deen, has he learned a few chapters from the Quran, a few supplications from the Sunnah of Rasulullah — maybe he does not know these things. So first try to teach them about the Deen, and then explain other things.

Purification of the Heart

And similarly, to be successful, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Indeed, whosoever purifies himself by avoiding prohibited things from his heart and mind shall achieve success. So our heart and our mind should be clean from hasad — jealousy — enmity, and hatred. These things are like a disease that will eat our good deeds. So we have to clean our heart and mind from these things. This is tazkiyah, this is purification.

The Signs of the Successful Believers — Surah al-Mu'minun

As well, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about success at the beginning of Surah al-Mu'minun:

Successful indeed are the believers — those who offer their Salat with khushu', with sincerity. So we have to know how we are going to pray. Salat is Ibadah, and Ibadah you cannot do according to your own desire — Ibadah should be according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah. When we pray, we have to consider that we are standing in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, asking something from Allah. So we have to stand in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with khushu'.

And then another sign of those who will be successful: those who turn away from falsehood and all that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has forbidden. Because as a true believer, we have a real task in our life — we don't have time to waste. Our time should be useful for us because we are going to be asked by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Also for the successful people there is another sign: that they pay Zakat, charity for the poor and needy — whatever you can, help them. And those who guard their chastity. And those who are faithful to their amanah — honest and trustworthy people. Whatever they have agreed with people, they try to honour and look after these things.

So these, my brothers, are the signs of the people who will be successful here and in the Hereafter. And obviously we all need to be successful, but how are we going to achieve it without following what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says and what Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam said?

Summary and Conclusion — First Khutbah

So as a brief summary: if you want to achieve the high target, then we need to correct our Iman — our belief — and we need to act according to the teaching of the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and purify your soul, your heart, and your mind from all these diseases. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us tawfiq and ability for understanding the teaching of the Quran and Sunnah and following the best, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us all entitled for Jannatul Firdaus.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ الْكَرِيمِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

Second Khutbah — Racing Towards the Hereafter

Brothers and sisters, we all have a concept of success and we want to achieve success. We dream for this and we have set our own goals according to our own desire and understanding, which we try to achieve. But this is for this dunya only, for this world only, and this dunya is temporary, limited, and unreliable.

The real success will be on the Day of Judgment, when we are protected from the Fire of Hell and we get the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with hospitality from our Creator, Khaliq al-samawati wal-ard. Let us try to achieve this and set proper goals and utilize this life for the betterment of the Hereafter. We should race to achieve this success, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about the true believers:

Hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous. And the abundant wealth and blessings of this world — as if one has achieved his goal and succeeded — but for the believer, this is not the real success, because life in this world is short, and the benefit from these blessings is very limited. The real success is the victory in the Hereafter.

Allah Almighty said:

Every soul will taste death, but you will be given your rewards on the Day of Resurrection. So whoever is removed from the Fire and is admitted to Paradise has already won. And the winners will receive from their Lord the most beautiful things that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no human heart has ever felt.

Following the Quran and Sunnah Without Deviation

But in order to achieve this high degree, we need a sincere, pure faith — free from any kind of shirk — and work according to the rules of the Quran and the Sunnah, without deviation or addition. Allah Almighty said:

Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has already attained a great success. And this work must be done according to the path of the righteous predecessors. As Allah Almighty said:

And the first of the emigrants and the helpers, and those who followed them with good — Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. And He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow, where they will stay forever. That is the great success.

Steadfastness in the Religion

The confirmation and steadfastness in the religion — as Allah Almighty said:

Those who say, "Our Lord is Allah," then remain steadfast — the angels will descend on them: "You will not fear and you will not grieve, and be glad of the Paradise that you were promised. We are your allies in this world and in the Hereafter, and you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you ask for — a descent from the Forgiving, the Merciful."

So the believer should not be negligent in performing his Islamic duties in his personal, family, and social life.

Du'a — Closing Supplication

May Allah be pleased with the rightful Caliphs — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them all — and the rest of the Companions, and the people of the House, the good, the pure.

Our Lord, protect us and our brothers who have preceded us in faith, and do not make in our hearts any hatred for those who have believed. Our Lord, You are Kind, Merciful.

Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from Yourself. Indeed, You are the Bestower.

Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire.

O Allah, grant might to Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, Helper of the Muslims in every place. O Allah, protect their blood, their wealth, and their honour. Grant us to die as Muslims and join us with the righteous.