Don’t Take Your Tawheed for Granted - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Don't Take Your Tawheed for Granted

One of the things that we see in the Quran, in the book of Allah, when Allah describes and mentions to us the stories of His prophets, peace and blessings be upon them, is that Allah often relates to us the du'as that they used to make, the supplications that they used to invoke Allah with. It is a common theme in the Quran. If you read the stories of the prophets of Allah, you will often come across the du'as of the Anbiya, peace and blessings be upon them.

It is one of those prophets of Allah, and some of the du'as that he made, that I want to focus on in today's khutbah, in the short time that we have before us. And that is the prophet of Allah, Ibrahim عليه السلام. One of the greatest messengers of Allah that He sent to humankind, the Khalil of Allah. The story of Hajj, the Hajj that people just completed and performed by Allah's permission just a few weeks ago — that story is closely connected to this prophet and his family عليهم السلام.

Allah towards the end of Surah Ibrahim, a surah named after him, relates to us a number of du'as that he makes. And according to a number of the scholars of tafsir, these du'as are made by him عليه السلام after he constructed the Ka'bah, after he raised its foundations by Allah's command, after he built the house of Allah — which is the greatest symbol of the tawheed of Allah upon this earth. He raised the foundation of the Ka'bah, completed a momentous task, an amazing act of worship, such that the people from his time until Yawmul Qiyamah will go and worship Allah at that place and in that house and face its direction in salah. He builds and constructs the Ka'bah.

The Du'a for Safety

And then he turns to Allah and he makes a series of du'as. From those du'as is that he says:

And remember when Ibrahim عليه السلام called upon his Lord and said: "Oh my Lord, make this land a land of safety." The land of Mecca, the haram of Mecca, the sanctuary of Mecca — it is a place of safety. And that is why people from across the world, even till today, can travel there in relative comfort and safety and worship Allah, because it is from the greatest blessings of Allah that you are able to live in a time and a place of safety.

That you don't have to fear for your life, you don't have to fear for your rizq, you don't have to fear for your family, your children, their well-being and their safety. To be able to worship Allah in calmness, in safety, in peace, in tranquility — it is from the greatest blessings of Allah. And that is why many generations, many centuries after the time of Ibrahim عليه السلام, when Allah is speaking to the people of Quraysh in the surah named after the tribe of Quraysh, one of the things that Allah focuses upon and reminds them of is this blessing that they had in the city of Mecca:

Allah gave to them provision and Allah gave to them safety. Because in Arabia people used to fight wars, tribes would kill one another, there was civil strife — but in Mecca, in the haram, no one came and shed blood. No one came and caused any harm or strife, because it is a land of safety that Allah has made a sanctuary.

So me and you, when we come to the masjid on the day of Jumu'ah and we pray, we don't have to worry about our safety and our well-being. We don't have to worry about our homes and our families that are back home. We don't have to worry about our property and wealth. You can come and enjoy and focus on this act of worship that you are performing — the Ramadan, the Tarawih, the Eid, the Hajj, the Umrah, and all of those things that Allah has encouraged us to do and obligated upon us. It is from Allah's blessings.

The Du'a Against Shirk

And so Allah answers this du'a for Ibrahim عليه السلام. And then Ibrahim عليه السلام continues and says:

"And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols. O my Lord, they have led astray many of the people."

It is amazing that after performing this amazing, monumental act of worship — constructing the Ka'bah — Ibrahim عليه السلام, standing in the very center of Tawheed upon the face of the earth, the du'a that he makes for himself and for his family, for his children, for his sons, is that Allah protects them from idolatry.

I don't think that there are many of us here who have ever made a du'a similar to this du'a for ourselves — that Allah saves us from shirk, that Allah saves us from idol worship, that Allah doesn't cause our hearts to go astray and go towards that path of shirk. He says: "O my Lord, these idols are the cause of the shirk of the vast majority of mankind. They are what lead people astray."

And perhaps Ibrahim عليه السلام knew — and Allah knows best — that there would be among his descendants those who would turn to idolatry, those who would worship idols in that very land and by that very house of Allah. Because who were the Quraysh other than the descendants of Ibrahim and Ismail عليهما السلام?

Don't Take Your Iman for Granted

One of the things that we take for granted today — in the UK, in the US, in Saudi Arabia, in Pakistan, in India, across the world — is our iman, our tawheed of Allah. If a Prophet of Allah, the Khalil of Allah, having performed one of the greatest acts of worship for the sake of Allah, is not sure, does not have a guarantee, and is afraid for himself and his family of shirk and idolatry — then what guarantee do me and you have?

And you only have to look at the Quraysh at the time of the Prophet ﷺ — descendants of prophets. In terms of lineage, there is no one here that is more noble in lineage than the nobility of the lineage of Quraysh. Not your family, not your father, not your ancestry is better than the lineage of the people of Quraysh. And no one lived in a land more blessed, more beloved to Allah, more honourable than the land of Mecca. Not only that, but the people of Quraysh were the custodians of the Ka'bah. They were the custodians of Zamzam. They were the people who used to look after the pilgrims who made pilgrimage in their time.

But despite their land, despite where they lived, despite where they would sit and spend time together in the shade of the Ka'bah — despite their lineage and their ancestry — it didn't save them from the shirk of Allah. Right in and around the Ka'bah, there were 360 idols that they would worship besides Allah. Let alone the idols that they had in their homes and on their persons and in their businesses and across the streets of Mecca and outside of Mecca and across the Arabian Peninsula. It didn't give them a guarantee that Allah would save them from shirk.

And all the while, those people who were worshipping other than Allah, committing shirk, destroying the religion of Allah — the religion that their father Ibrahim عليه السلام left them with — their claim was: "We are descendants of Ibrahim. We are the people of Ibrahim. We are the children, the descendants of Ibrahim." And that is why Ibrahim عليه السلام says:

"The one who truly follows me — he is from me." Because it's not about your ancestry, it's not about your lineage, it's not about your culture. The vast majority of us sitting here are probably born Muslim. We have Muslim names that we were born with. Our parents and grandparents were Muslims. We have Muslim cultures and heritages that we identify with. Yet despite this, it's not a guarantee that you or your children or your family or mine will remain straight upon the path of Tawheed.

And so Allah gives us this lesson in the story of Ibrahim عليه السلام: Don't take your Iman for granted. Don't take your Tawheed for granted. Don't think that just because you were born a Muslim that you will die a Muslim. And especially in the time that we live in today, where you don't have to go very far to see how quickly and how often people are leaving Islam. How quickly and how often people are becoming confused about their religion and straying from the path of Allah.

So O Allah, save us and save our families from idol worship. Save us from shirk. Because they are the cause of the misguidance of the majority of people. To truly follow someone, or to be from someone, is to follow what they left. Just as today all of us claim as Muslims that we love the Prophet ﷺ, that we follow the Prophet ﷺ, we boast and we consider it a source of pride that we are from the Ummah of the Prophet ﷺ. But you don't just get to make that claim and receive that honoured title by simply making the claim. It is about how you follow the Prophet ﷺ, how you hold on to his teachings and his Sunnah. That's what makes you from the Prophet ﷺ.

Those people of Quraysh claimed to be from Ibrahim. But Ibrahim عليه السلام said: if they follow me, they are from me. Because that is what Allah will look at on Yawmul Qiyamah — not just because you happen to be born or carry the name or the lineage or the family surname of someone. Allah is looking at your action, your Iman, your hearts, and your Taqwa.

The Du'a for the Barren Valley

Ibrahim عليه السلام continues and makes a further du'a:

He says: "Oh my Lord, I have settled some of my progeny, some of my children in this barren, uncultivated valley." Because the valley of Mecca is not a valley in which you get fruit or vegetation. It's not like Medina where there are date palm trees and fruit and the people are people of agriculture. The land of Mecca is a barren land — no cultivation, no greenery, full of hills and valleys. It's not a place where people would easily settle were it not for the fact that the house of Allah was there.

"Oh Allah, I have settled my children in this place — by Your sacred house." Because the prophets of Allah, when it came to choosing something for themselves, for their children, for their families — that was their priority: what is most pleasing to Allah? And if safeguarding themselves and their family in terms of their iman, their religion, their tawheed of Allah, meant that they had to sacrifice some or much of the dunya — then the prophets of Allah would make that sacrifice and choose what was more pleasing to Allah.

No one settles in Mecca — and no one settled in Mecca — for any other reason except the fact that the house of Allah is there. There's nothing there in terms of beauty of landscape, nothing in terms of seas or mountains or everything else that people love when they travel. It is because of the house of Allah that is there. Ibrahim عليه السلام sacrificed, left his son Ismail عليه السلام as a baby in that same barren valley. He left him there — sacrificed for the sake of Allah. Why? Because Your sacred house, O Allah, is there.

And so the Muslims — this is how they are in their lives. Every sacrifice they make, every decision they should make, should be based upon this principle: what is most pleasing to Allah? And if you have to sacrifice for the sake of Allah so that you and your children can worship Allah better, then that is a sacrifice worth making.

Establishing Salah and Receiving Rizq

And that is why Ibrahim عليه السلام continues and says: "O Allah, so that they can establish the Salah." That's why I left them here. I didn't leave them in Mecca so they become rich or famous or have careers or become high-flying people and individuals. "O Allah, so that they may establish the Salah" — so that they could establish the Salah and the worship of Allah. And if you do that and you sacrifice for Allah, then Allah will give you the dunya as well anyway.

Ibrahim says: "So make the hearts of some of the people yearn towards this place, the place of Mecca." So people came and settled with Ismail and Hajar. The city of Mecca turned from a dwelling for two people into a village, a town, a city. And now millions from across the world every year seek that very place. "And provide for them, O Allah, from Your goodness, from Your ثَمَرَات, from provision, that they may be grateful."

The people of Mecca, from the time of the Prophet ﷺ — before and after — have always had the rizq of Allah come to them. It's not a place of vegetation, not a place of agriculture, not a place where they have plentiful fruit and food. But because the people come and do commerce and trade as they make pilgrimage at that house — until today, the economy of the city of Mecca thrives by the people who visit for the sake of Allah. The people who make Umrah, the people who make Hajj. How many industries today survive and flourish and thrive because of those people?

And that is the du'a of Ibrahim عليه السلام: you sacrifice for Allah, you worship Allah, you uphold the Tawheed of Allah, and Allah will suffice you for everything else. Allah will give you the rizq of the dunya. Allah will make things easy for you. And Allah will not only do that but will do it in a way that is most beneficial for you.

Nothing Is Hidden from Allah

"For O Allah, You know that which we make apparent and that which we hide. And nothing remains hidden from Allah in the heavens and the earth." Nothing in the heavens and the earth remains hidden from Allah.

And that is because shirk and kufr have outward appearances and manifestations, but they also have inward and hidden manifestations. Much of shirk and kufr comes from the heart. Much of shirk and kufr — its place is in the heart. It is hidden from eyes, hidden from people in terms of apparent actions. So Ibrahim عليه الصلاة والسلام is making this point also — that the people who worship Allah must have the tawheed of Allah. The people who rectify their hearts, rectify their tawheed of Allah.

Because you only have to look across the Muslim world today — the very many Muslim communities that we have across the world — and you will see different acts of shirk being performed by Muslims. This one making du'a to other than Allah, that one sacrificing to other than Allah, that one making tawaf to other than the house of Allah. Something which you find across the Muslim world today. And that's because their heart hasn't been purified from shirk and kufr. They don't understand the tawheed of Allah. And because there is that disconnect in their heart between the meaning of tawheed and the dangers of shirk, it is not so difficult for them to fall into it.

So Ibrahim عليه الصلاة والسلام, after performing this great act of worship of building the Ka'bah, makes these amazing du'as. They are du'as that I think are very important for us to reflect upon. Because even though he made them generations and centuries ago, they apply just as much to me and you today in terms of the lessons and principles they contain.

And from the greatest of those lessons is that we should never for a single moment believe that we are guaranteed Iman, that it is something we should take for granted. Rather, it is the blessing of Allah that He gives to whomsoever He wills. And so the believer always asks Allah to continuously keep them steadfast upon this religion, to give them thabat. And that is why when the wife of the Prophet ﷺ was asked what was one of the most common du'as that she heard the Prophet ﷺ make, she replied that she would often hear him say:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3522; also reported in Musnad Ahmad)

"O Turner of the hearts, make my heart steadfast and firm upon Your religion."

The Du'a for Salah and Forgiveness

Ibrahim عليه السلام continues and makes a further du'a after he praises Allah for His blessings upon him as an individual:

"Praise be to Allah who granted to me, bestowed upon me in my old age, Ismail and Ishaq" — his two sons عليهما السلام. He then makes a further du'a:

"O Allah, make me from amongst those who establish the Salah, and my children and offspring after me. O Allah, accept this du'a for me. O Allah, forgive me and my parents and all of the believers on the Day that You hold people to account."

This is an amazing du'a, because one of the greatest ways that you preserve your religion, your tawheed, your iman in Allah, is through the worship of Allah. And that's why these acts of worship that we perform — the Salah, the Jumu'ah prayer, fasting in Ramadan, Umrah, Hajj, giving Zakah — these are acts of worship that aren't just there to be ticked off as a checklist. They're not just there for the sake of it. They have great lessons and benefits, and from the greatest of those benefits is that they help to preserve your iman. They help to preserve your religion. If you understand what those acts of worship are and perform them in the correct way, and your heart is connected with them, they are from the greatest means of gaining steadfastness in this religion.

And so he says: "O Allah, make me and my children from the people of Salah." There was Salah in the time of Ibrahim عليه السلام and he wanted his children to be people of Salah. This is a du'a that we often neglect for ourselves and our children. We don't often ask Allah to make us from the people of Salah, the people of Zakah, the people of fasting, the people of Tawbah, the people of Hajj and Umrah, the people of birrul walideen — and all of those acts of worship. But that is what the believer should do, because those acts of worship are extremely difficult were it not for the help of Allah and His aid.

Conclusion: Never Take Iman for Granted

And so Allah mentions towards the end of Surah Ibrahim these du'as, which contain amazing lessons and principles. Preserve your religion by worshipping Allah, by understanding the tawheed of Allah, by making du'a to Allah, and by never taking it for granted. Ask Allah that He keeps us and our families steadfast upon this religion. And just as Allah has allowed us to live upon Islam, may He allow us to die upon Iman, and resurrect us with the people of Iman. And may Allah grant to us and our families and our communities the best of this world and the next. And ask Allah that He makes our affairs easy, that He shows His mercy and forgiveness upon us, and that Allah grants us safety in our communities.