Blessings of the Prophets - Shaykh Abdullah Shuraykah | Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Opening — Praise and Testimony

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, and ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the evils of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whom 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. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, and may He send peace to many.

As for after this, I remind you and myself of the piety of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and to work according to His words, Glorified and Exalted is He:

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And do not die except as Muslims.

Unity Under One Banner

O brothers in Allah, all praise is due to Allah, Who has gathered me and you in this blessed place, and in this blessed time, to establish this great and blessed worship. This is the testimony of the Friday sermon and the Friday prayer, by the grace of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.

Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has gathered us in this place — and we are of different races, and of different nationalities, and we belong to different origins. But He has gathered us under this roof, upon the saying: there is no god but Allah. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has gathered us here, despite us being of various backgrounds and ethnicities, speaking different languages. But Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has gathered and united us under a single roof, because the one thing that unites us is the statement of لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — there is no god but Allah.

It was one of the greatest blessings of Allah upon humanity, and upon all people, that He sent Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and said to him:

We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds. We have only sent him as a mercy to all of the people. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, sent the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to establish for us the principles of mercy, and the meaning of true humanity, where a person respects his fellow human — irrespective of whether that person is a Muslim or not — he knows the rights that they have upon him, and the rights that he has over them.

And that is why when Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, spoke about this in the Quran, He said:

Indeed We have favored the children of Adam. And He didn't say we favored only the Muslims, but He favored all of humankind in this way.

No Distinction Except by Taqwa

And that is why the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came to dispel all differences. There is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab, nor between a white and a brown, nor between a rich and a poor, nor between a ruler and the ruled, except through righteous deeds and piety. People only excel according to their righteous deeds.

And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, when He sent the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with this, He was to dispel all of the barriers and the differences that people have amongst them. So in our religion, there is no virtue for an Arab over a non-Arab, or someone who is white-skinned over someone who is dark-skinned, or someone who is poor over someone who is rich, or vice versa. All of those differences, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, told us that they don't matter — except with the one virtue, and that is the virtue of taqwa.

And that is why Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said in the Quran:

O mankind, indeed We created you from a single male and a female. And then We dispersed you into tribes and into different nations. Indeed, the one who is most virtuous in the sight of Allah is the one who has the most taqwa.

And that is why the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in the authentic hadith:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23489)

There is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab, and there is no difference between a white and a red, except with taqwa. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, emphasized this principle in the Sunnah — there is no virtue for an Arab over a non-Arab, or someone who is light-skinned over someone who is dark-skinned, unless and except if they have taqwa.

The Companions — Different Backgrounds, One Faith

And that is why from the first generation, those companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him — that generation that Allah favored and whose virtues are well-known and whose mention and names have remained and will remain until the Day of Judgment — we know that they came from different backgrounds and ethnicities.

We have amongst them the likes of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who was from the Quraysh, from the Arabs. And then you have the likes of Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, who was from Abyssinia, a slave. And then Salman, may Allah be pleased with him, who was originally from Persia. And Suhaib, who was originally from the Byzantine Romans. All of them from different ethnicities, but what gathered them and united them together was this religion.

And that is why these four — Abu Bakr, Salman, Bilal, and Suhaib — are better than all the living beings on the face of the earth today. Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, the Abyssinian who was from Ethiopia, is better than all who live on the face of the earth today, from the Arabs and others, from the Quraysh and others. Any one of those four companions whose names we mentioned would be better and more virtuous than all of the people living today — whether they're from the Muslims or the non-Muslims, or the Arabs or the non-Arabs, or from Quraysh or other than Quraysh.

And what gave Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, that virtue and that precedence over everyone else alive today? It is his taqwa and his righteous deeds. So when Islam gives preference or virtue to one person over another, it is based upon this criteria — the fear of Allah and righteous deeds, how well they fulfill the rights of others, and how much they refrain from all types of oppression and transgression.

A person's lineage and their family name don't benefit them — it doesn't matter how noble or how great or how well-known it may be. It doesn't benefit a person unless they have the fear of Allah and iman in Allah. And that is why Abu Lahab, despite being from the family of the Prophet ﷺ, from the Quraysh, from the Arabs, none of that benefited him when he became an enemy to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, an enemy to the believers at that time.

Abu Lahab and Zayd ibn Harithah — Two Names in the Quran

From the miracles of the Quran, or from the most amazing points that we find in the book of Allah, is that of the many people who lived in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, the Quran only mentions two of them by name. The first of them was his uncle Abu Lahab, and the second was the companion Zayd ibn Harithah.

Abu Lahab was the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, and he was from the noblest of the Arabs in lineage, and his lineage was very pure. Despite that, Allah did not mention him in the Quran except for the purpose of censure:

The hands of Abu Lahab were cut off and cut off. We will read this until the Day of Resurrection, and we will be rewarded for every letter of this speech, because it is from the Quran. Allah humiliates him in the Quran, even though he had a lineage that was close to the Prophet ﷺ.

As for Zayd ibn Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, he was a freed slave — his lineage was not well-known. But Allah mentioned him for the sake of glorification and honor, mentioning him by his good name:

The name Zayd — you read it and you have thirty good deeds in it, because every letter you read from the Quran has ten good deeds by the grace of Allah.

Look, O my brothers, at how close Abu Lahab's lineage was with the Prophet ﷺ — how he was from the noblest of the people in lineage — and how that lineage did not benefit him at all. And look at how Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, was a freed slave with no lineage to speak of, yet he surpassed him in everything through his good deeds and his following of the Prophet ﷺ.

The first individual, Abu Lahab, was the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ — a pure Arab from the lineage of Quraysh. You can't get any closer in terms of lineage to the Prophet ﷺ. But that didn't benefit him. The second individual, Zayd ibn Harithah, was a freed slave — in terms of his lineage and his family name, there was nothing amazing, nothing noteworthy. But Allah praises him in the Quran and mentions his name such that you are rewarded for reciting it.

Look at the difference between these two people. The first of them is extremely close in terms of family blood relation to the Prophet ﷺ, but it doesn't benefit him because he doesn't believe in Allah. The second one is a freed slave with no lineage and no family name to be proud of, but Allah honors him and raises him because of his iman in Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ Emphasizes This in Speech and Action

The Prophet ﷺ emphasized this principle — that honor is associated with taqwa and nothing else — both in speech and in action.

As for in speech, he said ﷺ that whoever falls back and is lowly in his actions, his lineage will not come to benefit him.

As for in action, it is enough that we mention two examples. He raised his voice ﷺ and said:

O Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad — Fatimah, whom he loved and considered a part of him, may Allah be pleased with her — he would say: O Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, ask me for whatever you want from my wealth, but I will not avail you of anything from Allah.

And he ﷺ said in another hadith:

If Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, had stolen, Muhammad would have cut off her hand. He emphasized the establishment of justice for every person — whether he is honorable or lowly, rich or poor, a ruler or a ruled. His own daughter Fatimah was from the most beloved of people to him, the closest of people to him, and he said: O Fatimah, ask me anything you want from my wealth, but I cannot benefit you in the sight of Allah unless you believe. And therefore, if my own daughter Fatimah were to steal, I would establish the penal code upon her as well. This religion is one of justice — it doesn't matter how close or far one is, how noble one may be, or how lowly one's status is. It is all about the justice that Allah has placed in this religion.

The Lesson of Abu Talib

Abu Talib remained with the Prophet ﷺ and supported him for three years when the Quraysh of Banu Hashim were cut off, until they eventually abandoned the Prophet ﷺ. He supported him and helped him and announced that he knew what the Prophet ﷺ brought was the truth. Yet despite everything that Abu Talib did, he did not announce that he would enter Islam, and he did not announce the two testimonies when death came to him.

The Prophet ﷺ came to him and said: O uncle! Say, there is no god but Allah — a word that I will use to challenge on your behalf in the sight of Allah. I cannot benefit you just because you are my uncle and because you helped me. You must submit to Allah and announce the testimony that there is no god but Allah. Otherwise, a man's lineage will not benefit him. But he died and refused to say it.

So the Prophet ﷺ said: I will certainly ask forgiveness for you for as long as I was not forbidden from doing so. And Allah revealed:

It is not for the Prophet and those who believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists. This uncle of the Prophet ﷺ — his lineage did not benefit him. So how about those other than him? The Prophet ﷺ came to him and said: Say, there is no god but Allah — a single statement that I will use on your behalf in front of Allah. But when he refused to do so, the Prophet ﷺ could not benefit him. It did not matter that he was extremely close to him, that he defended him, that he helped him, that he protected his honor — all of those things were worthless when it came to him refusing to say it.

No Virtue Except by Taqwa — A Final Clarification

The one who fears Allah, obeys Allah's orders, and fulfills the rights of the people that Allah has commanded him to fulfill — one such non-Arab person is better than a million Arabs who do not fear Allah, commit sins, and harm the people in what they say and do. The narrations that have been mentioned today and other narrations all show that there is no difference between an Arab or non-Arab except by taqwa. And that's why if someone was to be a non-Arab, but they believed in Allah and they feared Allah and they did righteous deeds and they gave the people their rights, they would be better than a million Arabs who did not do so.

I seek Allah's forgiveness for me and for you from every sin, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah — The Complete Mercy of the Prophetic Mission

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon His Trustworthy Prophet, who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, and upon his family and companions.

As for later, O brothers in Allah — out of the complete mercy of Allah to humanity by the mission of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, sent with the religion of truth so that he may manifest it upon the whole religion, Allah, Exalted be He, commanded him to command people with every righteous deed and beautiful character, and to warn them of every bad deed and sinful character.

The mercy that Allah sent to us by way of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is that He made him someone who came to establish every good deed, to point out and guide us towards every good characteristic, and to warn us against every evil deed and every evil attribute. So he commanded justice and warned against injustice. He commanded truth and warned against lying. He commanded honesty and warned against treachery. He commanded generosity and warned against miserliness of character. He commanded goodness towards parents and warned against violating the rights of parents. He commanded kindness towards neighbors and warned against evil towards neighbors. He commanded the preservation of people's rights no matter what, and he forbade and warned against the violation of people's rights even if they were of other religions.

We should stay away from treachery and deceit. We should be people who respect our parents and stay away from disrespecting our parents. People who are good to their neighbors and not disrespectful to their neighbors. People who fulfill the rights of others irrespective of who they are, and not be people who take away the rights of others — irrespective of whether they're from our religion or from other religions.

The Truth Will Prevail

This is not surprising, because Allah Almighty said to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:

And thus We made for every Prophet an enemy from among the criminals. And Allah Almighty said:

Rather, We cast the truth over the falsehood, so that it vanishes. And when it vanishes, woe to you for what you describe. And He said, while telling us about these people:

They want to turn off the light of Allah with their mouths. And Allah will complete His light, even if the disbelievers hate it. It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it manifest over the whole religion, even if the polytheists hate it.

We need to learn our religion and to see this religion clearly, so that we know that everything attributed to this religion from fabrications and falsehoods is nothing but suspicions — just as darkness spreads, it is dispelled when the light of truth is brought. And Allah refuses to allow His light to be extinguished even if they dislike it. He is the one who sent the Messenger with guidance and the truth so that it would become uppermost upon every other religion.

Seek Knowledge from Its People

All of these issues that you hear, these problems that people raise, these doubts that are put out there — it is something that we need to learn our religion about and seek knowledge for. So that when the light of knowledge is placed upon those doubts, that light expels the darkness. Our duty is incumbent upon us: every time there is a doubt that is put towards us, or something is confusing to us, or there is something we don't understand — we go to those people of knowledge and we ask them, we clarify, we seek knowledge about our religion. We go to the experts and ask: what is the position concerning this issue that is confusing me?

Our religion says — Allah tells us in the Quran:

Ask the people of knowledge if you don't know. There is no such thing as a question you can't ask, so long as it is beneficial for you and it is knowledge that you need to acquire. There are no red lines. There is nothing you can't ask about. So go and seek that knowledge so that you can understand the truth of your religion.

In the coming days, this three-day conference that we have — inshAllah ta'ala — which begins this evening and goes on until Monday, we will be discussing a lot of these issues that people raise, and a lot of these doubts that are put out concerning our religion and our Prophet ﷺ, and we will discuss them in detail.

And I want to make Allah my witness in this place, upon this minbar, that I love you all for His sake. And I ask Him to gather me and you in this world in His obedience, and on the Day of Resurrection in the Gardens of Bliss with the Prophets and the Messengers. May Allah gather us in this life upon His obedience and in the next life in His paradise.

Du'a — Closing Supplication

O Allah, protect the Muslim men and Muslim women, and the believing men and believing women, those who are alive and those who are dead, O Lord of the earth and the heavens. O Allah, return us to Your religion with a beautiful return.

Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Glory, from what they describe. And peace be upon the Messengers. And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

And establish the prayer. Ameen.