20161118- 2nd Khutba - Shaykh Arsalan

Khutbah: Lessons from the Changing Seasons

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we ask for His help, we ask for His forgiveness and we ask for His guidance. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the evils of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomever He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without a partner. And I bear witness that our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is His servant and His messenger. He conveyed the message, and he fulfilled the trust, and he advised the Ummah, and he strived in the cause of Allah with the truth of his jihad, until the certainty came to him.

Allahumma, peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad, and upon his pure and good family, and upon his righteous companions, and upon those who followed them in goodness until the Day of Judgment.

As for what follows: the most truthful speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And the worst of things are newly invented matters, and every innovation is an invention, and every invention is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Brothers and sisters, we're going through that time of the year again — when the seasons are changing, the temperatures are fluctuating, the trees have already shed their leaves. And there is so much fluctuation in temperature that we don't know whether we should turn on the heat or the air conditioning. We don't know whether we should put a sweater on our child when we send them to school in the morning, or put a half-sleeve shirt on.

In this time of the year, when there are such drastic changes in temperature and in the seasons, we should reflect on these changes and alterations that are going on around us. Because Allah tells us in the Qur'an that this is one of the main purposes — why He does this in the universe around us — so that it causes us to pause and reflect.

Signs in the Creation for Those Who Reflect

Allah says, for example, in Surah Ali Imran:

Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding — those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying: "Our Lord, You did not create this in vain. Exalted are You. So protect us from the fire of Hell."

He says that indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alterations of night and day — the fact that night becomes day and day becomes night — and the changes that occur throughout the day and throughout the night, alterations and changes that occur around us (and part of that is in the changing of the seasons that we are witnessing, the changing of the temperatures, the changing and shedding of the leaves) — all of this, He says, in it there are ayat. There are signs for those who are endowed with a deep core, people of deep reflection and understanding.

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ — Those who remember Allah when they're standing, when they're sitting down, and when they are laying on their sides.

وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ — And those that reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth.

And they say, after they reflect on all of this that is occurring around them: رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. This is not just for the purpose of entertainment, and to take pictures and hang them on our walls, but it is for more than that. رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا — You have not created all of this in vain. سُبْحَانَكَ — Glory be to You, exalted are You above any form of imperfection. فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ — So please protect us from the fire of Hell.

In another place in the Qur'an, in Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah mentions something similar but adds more detail when He says:

He says that in all of the following things there are signs: in the creation of the heavens and the earth, in the alternations of the night and the day, in the ships that sail in the oceans and bring benefits to people, in the water that Allah sends down from the heavens and causes the earth to be revived through it after it has died and become barren, in the animals that Allah has spread throughout this earth, in the blowing of the winds, and in the clouds that float between the heavens and the earth. In all of this, Allah says, are لَآيَاتٍ — they are signs — لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ — for those who have intellect, for those who reason, for those who reflect and ponder and contemplate.

Brothers and sisters, right now the temperature is probably in the 60s. Very soon it will be in the 50s, and then the 40s, and perhaps tonight in the 30s. And then it will rise back up again and go up into the 80s. And then it will drop again and go back into the 40s and 30s. All of this change, all of this alteration — what should it remind us of? What are we to see through this? What are the messages that Allah wants us to remember through all of this?

Two things, insha'Allah, for the purpose of this khutbah — although much more can be said.

First Lesson: This World is Fleeting

The first lesson, brothers and sisters — and perhaps this is the most important and most resounding message and lesson — is that every created thing is meant to come to an end. This world in which we live is a fleeting world. It's called دار الفناء — not دار البقاء. دار البقاء is that other world, the hereafter. This is not an everlasting world. This is a fleeting world.

And that is a lesson that we learn from the changes that are going on around us. Nothing lasts. Summer does not last — it has an end. Spring does not last — it has an end. The leaves don't last on the trees — they fall. Warm temperature does not last. Cold temperature does not last. Everything that has to do with this world is fleeting. And not just the nature around us, but that's a sign for us to extend that to everything of this world: our wealth, our property, our positions in society and at work, the people in our lives, the relationships that we have, leaders, scholars, happiness, joy, sorrow, pain — everything has an end. Everything is fleeting. Nothing lasts forever.

As Allah says:

Everyone upon this earth will perish one day, will go one day. But many of us make the mistake of thinking that there are parts of our life that are never going to change, that are always going to be with us. Some of us even make that mistake about our own existence. We know, intellectually, that we will die one day, but we choose to forget about it. We choose to act as if we are going to live forever. We choose to act as if all of these things that we have in this world are going to remain with us forever. And these changes around us are meant to remind us of that which we want to forget — that everything on this earth will go one day.

The Story of the Two Men and the Garden (Surah Al-Kahf)

Allah tells us in Surah Al-Kahf — that surah that we are encouraged to recite every Friday — among the things that He tells us in that surah is the story of two men, one of whom was given two gardens. Allah says that this man, when he entered his garden:

This is the mistake that he made, which is a reminder for us, because many of us make the same mistake. That this man, when he entered his beautiful, prosperous, flourishing garden, he wronged himself and he said: مَا أَظُنُّ أَن تَبِيدَ هَٰذِهِ أَبَدًا — "I don't think that this will ever perish. I don't think that this beautiful garden that I have will ever perish."

And his companion, his friend, responded to him by saying:

He reminded him by telling him, basically, that Allah can change the way things are. Right now, I am the one who is poor, who doesn't have children, who doesn't have wealth, and Allah has blessed you with wealth and children. But all of that can turn around, all of that can change. Allah can give me wealth and cause all of your gardens and produce to be destroyed by a wind or a fire that He sends from the heavens. And your springs of water that are flowing in your farm and in your garden can be caused to be swallowed up into the earth, after which you will never be able to find that water again.

Nothing in this world is eternal, brothers and sisters. Everything has to come to an end — some things sooner, other things later. But again, as I said, many of us are deluded. We build an attachment to this world and when Allah changes it, when Allah takes it away, we fall into depression and anxiety. Just like this man of Surah Al-Kahf. When that happened to him, Allah says:

When Allah caused his crops to be destroyed, he began to wring his hands — that feeling of anxiety and intense depression that Allah paints the picture of in the Qur'an — because of all the wealth that he had spent working to make this a beautiful garden. All of that was gone. All of that was destroyed.

Change, brothers and sisters, is the nature of this world. Change is the nature of all created things. And this is why Rasulullah ﷺ said in a hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1997)

Those that you love — those people in your life that you love — be moderate in your love towards those people, because one day they may change and they may become hateful to you. And those people that you hate in your life — relatives, acquaintances, anybody that you hate — be moderate in your hate towards that person, because it may be that one day they will change and they will become beloved to you. Everything in this world is susceptible to change. Everything is changeable.

And in fact, everything in this world will change just like the seasons. Summer was here just yesterday, and today it is leaving us or has left. Anything that exists today will be gone tomorrow — whether it's wealth, or property, or positions, or people, or relationships, or leaders, or scholars, or happiness, or joy, or grief, or sorrow, or pain, or friends, or enemies. Everything.

Only two things are everlasting. One is Allah:

It is only the face of your Lord that will always be there. And the second thing that is everlasting is دار البقاء — the abode of the hereafter. Allah tells us in the Qur'an:

That which is with you is going to perish one day. But that which is with Allah will remain forever.

The Story of the Prophet ﷺ and the Lamb

One time, some people brought a gift to the Prophet ﷺ — it was some lamb meat, an entire lamb slaughtered — and they knew that the Prophet ﷺ rarely got to eat meat. So they presented it to him ﷺ and left it at his home. Rasulullah ﷺ gave instructions to Aisha to cut up the meat, divide it, and distribute it among the poor people of Medina. And he wanted that to be done before he came back, and then he left the home.

Aisha, radiyallahu ta'ala anha, did as she was told. She kept a portion of the meat for the Prophet ﷺ — the portion she kept was the shoulder meat, which was his favorite part. When the Prophet ﷺ came back, he asked Aisha, radiyallahu ta'ala anha, "Has any part of the meat been saved, or is it all gone?" So Aisha, radiyallahu ta'ala anha, replied and said, "Ya Rasulullah, maa baqiya illa katifuha" — "Ya Rasulullah, the only thing that is saved is the shoulder meat."

Now look at the response of Rasulullah ﷺ. He replied to her and said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2470)

"Rather, all of it is saved except for the shoulder meat." Why is that? Because he is teaching her — and us — a lesson: that whatever is of this world is not saved, is going to be consumed, is going to perish eventually. But that which is with Allah is safe, is not going anywhere. We will see it one day, insha'Allah ta'ala. Anything of this world is fleeting, is perishing. But that which belongs to the hereafter remains — that is everlasting.

I say this, and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you. So ask His forgiveness — indeed He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And the best of prayers and the most perfect submission is to our master Muhammad and to his family and all his companions.

Second Lesson: Fear and Hope

Brothers and sisters, we're trying to draw lessons from the changes in the seasons that are happening around us. The first lesson that I shared with you is the lesson that this world is fleeting. The second lesson that we learn from this — should learn — is a lesson in fear and hope.

Fear

First, fear. These changes around us should cause us to remember that Allah has the power to change anything instantaneously. He is the one who gave us His blessings — He can take them away at any time. Our health, our wealth, our talents, our skills, our relationships. And sometimes when we disobey Allah, He gives us respite, He gives us time, He gives us a chance. But if we continue to sin and continue to disobey Him — using the very blessings that He has given to us — then He can change everything instantly. He who gave us these blessings can take them away. Just like He can cause the temperature to drop from 80 degrees to 40 degrees in a few hours. That should cause us to fear Allah, to be worried about His punishment, about His retribution.

Hope

But it should also give us hope. Because again, Allah can change our situation instantaneously — which means that He can change our situation from bad to good, from misery to joy, from pain to delight, from difficulty to ease. He can also change our condition, if He wants, instantly — from ignorance to knowledge, from a life of disobedience to a life of obedience, from being distant from Him to being closer to Him.

Allah says in the Qur'an, for example:

He says that among His signs is this — that you see the earth barren, dead, no vegetation on it, and then, when We send down upon it water, it stirs up and it begins to come back to life. Indeed, the one who has revived the earth also revives the dead, gives life back to the dead. Indeed, He is capable of everything.

What Allah is telling us here is that these changes that we see around us in nature and in the environment are intended to bring us this message of hope — that Allah, the one who can give life to the dead soil, can also give life to our dead hearts. إِنَّ الَّذِي أَحْيَاهَا لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ — the one who can give life to the dead earth can give life to dead people. And if He can give life to dead people, He can give life to dead hearts, to our hearts, to your heart and mine, brothers and sisters.

This is a message that is telling us: do not despair.

As Allah says: "Say, my servants who have wronged yourselves, do not despair from the mercy of Allah."

Allah also says in another part of the Qur'an:

Look, He says — look and reflect on the traces of the rahmah of Allah. كَيْفَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا — How He gives life back to the earth after it has died. إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ — That same being has the capacity, has the ability to bring the dead back to life. وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ — And He has power over all things. Yes, He can do that. And that is tremendous hope for us.

But we also have to set the initial conditions. As Allah tells us:

That Allah does not change the state of a people until they change what is in their own selves. And if we want to change the world — and we all want to change the world for a better world — then we have to understand that the change has to start from us. We cannot change the world, but we can change ourselves. Because Allah gave us the free will, the ability to choose — to make our own choices in our lives. And that which does not change, brothers and sisters, does not grow. A tree that does not change does not grow.

Du'a

I ask Allah, the bringer of change, I implore Him — Ya Allah, to bring positive change into our lives. Ya Allah, please change our condition from difficulty to ease, from grief to happiness, from sorrow to joy, from pain to delight, from ignorance to knowledge, from Your disobedience to Your obedience, from being distant from You to being nearer to You. Ya Allah, please improve our condition. And then grant us constancy in virtue, grant us constancy in goodness, grant us constancy in Your obedience, grant us constancy in good character, grant us constancy in Your nearness. Ameen, ya Rabbal Alameen.

Indeed, Allah commands justice and good conduct, and giving to relatives, and forbids immorality and bad conduct and transgression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

Rise to your prayer — may Allah have mercy on you.