20170602- 2nd Khutba- Shaykh Arsalan

Opening Praise and Salutations

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, ask for His forgiveness, and ask for His guidance. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whosoever 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 our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was a servant and a messenger, pure and kind. He conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust. And he advised the Ummah. And he strived in the cause of Allah for the truth of his Jihad until the certainty came to him.

Amma ba'ad — fa inna asdaq al-hadith kitabullah, wa khayra al-hady sayyiduna Muhammadun sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, wa sharra al-umuri muhdathatuha, wa kulla muhdathatin bid'ah, wa kulla bid'atin dalalah, wa kulla dalalahin fi al-naar.

The Qibla: Form and Its Purpose

Brothers and sisters, in the second juz' of the Qur'an, towards the very beginning, Allah commands the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the believers to change the qibla — the direction of prayer — from Jerusalem to Mecca. This commandment, which has to do with an outward act of physically facing a direction during prayer, is so important to Allah that He repeats this command in the Qur'an not twice, not three times, but five times in only two pages — one after another, essentially the same command: wherever you may be, turn your faces towards the Sacred Mosque.

And yet, only three pages later, what does Allah say — after He emphasizes to us the importance of facing Mecca? He says:

He says that you turn your faces to the east or the west is not righteousness. Righteousness is to believe in God, in the angels, in the divine book, in the prophets, in spending money, and so on.

What's the message here? Why give so much attention to facing the Qibla physically and outwardly, when it does not constitute righteousness?

Form Is the Means; Righteousness Is the Goal

The answer, brothers and sisters, is because the physical forms of our worship are our only means to attain righteousness. They are our only means by which we can attain our goal. Yet they are not the goal in themselves.

The outer forms of our worship do not constitute righteousness. It's not righteousness that we face the Qibla in prayer. It's not righteousness that we bow once and prostrate twice. It's not righteousness that we pray at specific times. It's not righteousness that we fast only upon seeing the crescent hilal. It's not righteousness that we begin our fast meticulously at the exact minute of dawn. It's not righteousness that we break our fast after the exact time when the sun sets. It's not righteousness that we withhold from food and drink. These are all outer forms of worship. Nevertheless, they are essential. They are crucial to attain righteousness, which is the goal.

What is righteousness? Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: "Righteousness is here" — as he pointed to his heart.

Righteousness, brothers and sisters, is a state of your heart and my heart. Allah commands Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to perform sacrifice, but then He Himself also says:

It is not their flesh nor their blood that reaches Him, but the righteousness that is in their hearts.

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that verily Allah does not look at your forms nor does He look at your bodies, but He looks at your hearts and your actions.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 70)

The Marriage Between Form and Content

Islam is a marriage between form and content. Both are important. One is the means — the only means that we have — while the other is the goal. Without the correct form we can never attain the right content, and without the right content, form is useless.

In our fiqh, we classify acts as valid or invalid — sahih and batil, sahih and fasid. If an act is performed with the correct outer form, it's called sahih, or valid, and if it's not, then it's considered batil, invalid. But there is a deeper classification: maqbool and mardood — accepted or rejected. If the content of the act is as it should be, it is accepted by God; otherwise it is rejected.

The question is, brothers and sisters: what is our concern? Are we concerned with making our acts of worship sahih, valid? If we are, then is that our only concern? Or do we aim to have our acts of worship accepted by our Lord?

A Valid Fast vs. an Accepted Fast

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 7, Hadith 1)

How many of those who fast get nothing from it but hunger and thirst? What is Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam telling us here? He's telling us that these people fasted — he calls them sa'im, the one who fasts — so he acknowledges that their fast is valid, is sahih. It fulfills the conditions of the outward form of fasting. But yet they are denied their reward from Allah. The act is rejected, and all they get in return is hunger and thirst. Why? Because they didn't have the right content. All they had was the right form.

So how can we fast in a way that is beyond just a valid fast — a fast that is accepted by Allah? How can we fast like that?

Step One: Learn the External Fiqh of Fasting

First, brothers and sisters, we have to learn the external fiqh of fasting. We must learn how to fast a valid fast. We must learn about when to start fasting and when to break the fast, and what are the things that make our fast invalid. Remember, Allah did order the believers to face the qibla five times before the Qur'an tells them what righteousness truly is. Learning the outer form of worship is essential and comes first, and without it we cannot attain righteousness.

Step Two: Know Why We Fast

However, we must know why we're fasting. Why do we fast? Is it to stay hungry and thirsty all day? Allah tells us in the Qur'an why we fast when He says:

O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain Taqwa. So the goal of fasting is to attain Taqwa.

What Is Taqwa?

As we mentioned last week, Taqwa is an Arabic word which comes from وَقَى يَقِي — which means to protect or to shield. In other words, Taqwa is to shield yourself, to protect yourself from falling into anything that Allah does not love.

When I protect my eyes from looking at anything that Allah does not love — that is Taqwa. When I guard my ears from listening to those things that Allah and His Messenger do not love — that is Taqwa. When I restrain my tongue from saying anything that Allah and His Messenger do not love — that is Taqwa. When I protect my stomach from consuming anything that Allah and His Messenger do not love — that is Taqwa. When I guard my private parts from everything that Allah and His Messenger do not love — that is Taqwa. When I guard my arms and legs and my fingertips from doing anything that Allah and His Messenger do not love — that is Taqwa. And when I protect my heart from anything that distracts it from the remembrance of Allah — that is Taqwa.

Taqwa is all of that, and that is the goal of fasting.

Questions We Must Ask Ourselves This Ramadan

The question that all of us must ask ourselves as we go through this month of Ramadan is: is my fast helping me attain Taqwa? Or is it only keeping me away from food and drink?

Do I lower my gaze during Ramadan? Do I give up listening to music, to backbiting during Ramadan? Do I guard my tongue from lying, backbiting, offending others, ridiculing others, idle talk during the month of Ramadan? Do I feed my stomach only that which is lawful as I break my fast? Do I guard my arms, my legs, my private organs? Do I guard my heart from thoughts of vanity, self-righteousness, conceitedness, ostentation, self-aggrandizement, arrogance, and depending on other than Allah?

These are questions that we have to answer to ourselves if we truly want a fast that is accepted. If we truly want more than just the form — if we want the content as well.

I pray to Allah to give us all the ability to fast this month properly, and to accept our fasts, and to forgive us for our shortcomings.

The Qualities of the People of Taqwa

Brothers and sisters, the goal of fasting is for us to become people of taqwa. Who are the people of taqwa? In several places in the Qur'an, Allah talks about the muttaqeen — the people of taqwa. One place is in Surah Ali 'Imran, where Allah says:

Those who spend for the cause of Allah in ease and in hardship — that is the first quality mentioned of the people of taqwa. They are those who suppress their anger and pardon other people, and Allah loves those who do good to others. They are those who, when they commit a shameful sin or wrong themselves, remember Allah and then seek forgiveness for their sins. And who forgives sins except Allah? They do not knowingly persist in their act of disobedience. Their reward is the forgiveness of their Lord, and gardens underneath which rivers flow — they will live therein forever. What an excellent reward for those who work hard in the cause of Allah.

Fasting and Spending: Taming the Nafs

As we fast, brothers and sisters, this is one of the qualities that we should be aspiring for. Fasting is intended to help us restrain our nafs. Even the word sawm means imsak — restrain, to withhold from something. Fasting is intended to help us restrain our nafs from what? From desiring objects of this material world. The nafs always wants more food, more drink, more intimacy, more wealth.

Fasting is intended to teach me to subdue my nafs, to tame it like a cowboy who tames a wild horse and then rides it on its back, fully in control. My nafs is also like a wild horse. If I don't control it, it'll go wild — and then I will always want more: more food, more drink, more intimacy, more money. And nothing will satisfy my belly except the fire of hell, as Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said.

Fasting is intended to help me reorient myself, so that I realize that I live in this world, not for it. I live for Allah. When I realize that, brothers and sisters, then I can also give for Allah. I can then give up anything for Him — not just food and drink, but wealth, power, positions of leadership, pride, arrogance, even my life.

The Prophet's Generosity in Ramadan

Indeed, brothers and sisters, there is a powerful connection between fasting and spending money for the sake of Allah. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the most generous of people. He would always spend his wealth in the cause of Allah. But when he was fasting in Ramadan, he would spend even more — so much so that his wife Aisha radiyallahu ta'ala anha said that he was like the breeze of wind that brings abundant rain in the month of Ramadan.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6)

A Call to Give This Ramadan

So this is the first quality, brothers and sisters, that we should all aspire for in this month. If we truly want to attain the goal of fasting, if we truly want to be people of taqwa, if we truly want content beyond just the form — if you pray Salat al-Taraweeh in this masjid, brothers and sisters, almost every day in the month of Ramadan, you have opportunities to give for the sake of Allah. Don't ignore those opportunities.

These days, you're hearing requests — perhaps you'll hear it again after Salat al-Jumu'ah — to donate for iftar in the masjid. Don't miss that opportunity. In a few days, you will hear about a fundraiser for our masjid, for the operations of the masjid. You'll be asked to exercise this quality of the muttaqeen — to give for the sake of Allah. Don't miss that opportunity.

May Allah help us be among those who can, in this month, truly reorient ourselves and begin to live in this world but not for this world — for Allah. And that when we are asked to give for His sake, we do that as much as we can without putting an unnecessary burden on our families, but to give from the excess that Allah has blessed us with — so that we can tame our nafs, so that we can teach ourselves to say no. When the nafs wants more — more toys, more gadgets, more accessories, more extra things — we can begin to say no and subdue and tame the nafs, just like that cowboy who tames the horse and rides it, rather than the horse pushing him around everywhere.

May Allah help us be among the muttaqeen. May Allah help us fast this entire month in a way that is valid and in a way that is accepted by Him.

Closing Du'a

قُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمْكُمُ اللَّه