The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Is A Mercy To Mankind | Jumuah Khutbah | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi | Epic Masjid

Opening Praise

All praises due to Allah, the Majestic, the Most High. له ما في السماوات وما في الأرض To him belongs the earth and the sky. He sent the Prophet ﷺ رحمة للعالمين And he described him as نوراً and gave him the كتاب مبين. He came as a caller and a سراج منيرة, a bright light serene. Yet even before, the people had already called him الصادق and الأمين.

He is the سيد ولدي آدم. Yet in tahajjud still he would cry. The most grateful servant of Allah, nearest to him the Most High. The maqam al-Mahmood was he promised and he shall gain on Judgment Day when his shafa'ah shall lift all fear and pain. He was taken in al-Mi'raj and in the Divine Presence did he arrive. And yet he returned to us, negotiating the prayers from 50 down to 5. So we praise our Lord for sending the Prophet as a mercy to mankind. For it is the Qur'an and his sunnah that guides both heart and mind.

So send salat and salam as you have been commanded, O you who believe.

Allah's Favor Upon the Believers

As to what follows, the Qur'an reminds us of the blessings of the Prophet ﷺ and the fact that he has been sent as a mercy and as a gift to all of mankind. Allah says in Surah Ali Imran:

Allah has favored the believers. Allah has given manna. لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ Allah has favored the believers. How are we favored? إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ Because He has sent a Rasul from amongst them.

It is a blessing to us that Allah has sent us His Khatamul Anbiya, His Mujtaba, His Mustafa, His Habib, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Qur'an is full of descriptions and praises and adjectives of the Prophet ﷺ. More than any one khutbah can do justice to. But it is imperative that we remind ourselves of these blessings.

The Five Descriptions of the Prophet

Allah says in Surah Al-Ahzab:

O Prophet, we have sent you as a shahid. You are a shahid. A shahid means you are testifying. Allah has chosen you as a witness. When you have been chosen as a witness by Allah, this is the highest level of tazkiyah. Allah has testified that when you speak, you will speak the truth. Allah has made you a shahid. You will testify to all truths. And the biggest truth, you will testify to Allah and to His right to be worshipped. You will bear witness to the risalah of Allah. You are a shahid, O Rasulullah.

You are a mubashshir. And a mubashshir is somebody who gives glad tidings. A mubashshir is somebody who's going to give you news that will cheer you up. You are a mubashshir. You are coming to give glad tidings. What are those glad tidings? That whoever believes in Allah shall forever be successful. Whoever turns to Allah shall have no fear. لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ Ultimate happiness will come to those who believe in you. You are a mubashshir. There is no messenger that has come with greater glad tidings than you.

But you are also a nadheer. A nadheer means a warner. If you turn away, if you do not accept, then you shall face the torment and the punishment of Allah.

وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ You are a da'i ilallah. You are calling to Allah. You are the one who guides to Allah. وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ Allah says, you are the one that guides. Allah guides. And Allah says, my nabi also guides. Allah is Al-Hadi. Allah is the ultimate guide. And Allah has chosen from His creation one human being to be the one that leads to that guidance. There is no guidance without the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ. If you wish to worship Allah, you must turn to the messenger of Allah to know how to worship Allah.

The Command to Honor and Respect the Messenger

In Surah Fatah, Allah says, similar to Surah Ahzab, but in more elaboration:

We have sent you as a shahid, and a mubashshir, and a nadheer. The same phrase found in Surah Al-Ahzab. And then Allah says, and listen to this, لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا We have sent you as a shahid, and a mubashshir, and a nadheer. Why? So that you may believe in Allah and His Messenger. وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ And defend the Messenger. And respect the Messenger.

تُعَزِّرُوهُ You will support the Messenger. تُوَقِّرُوهُ You will show him dignity. You will show him honor. You will show him respect. And what else? وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا And you will glorify Allah morning and evening.

Notice in this verse, Ibn Taymiyyah says, this verse is a jami'a, comprehensive verse that is calling people to defend the Messenger, to support the Messenger, to stop anything that will irritate the Messenger. And this verse also says, we must have tawqeer. And tawqeer is a comprehensive term that means every type of ijlaal and ikram, every type of respect, every type of dignity, and that he be treated with sharaf and takrim. He be given ultimate honor, ultimate ta'zeem, and that he protected and his reputation be protected from any evil and misgivings.

Notice in this verse, Allah mentions respect of the Prophet before He mentions praising Him. Even though we know that the purpose of creation is the worship of Allah. And yet in this verse He says, لِتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ So that you may defend the Messenger, show respect to the Messenger, and praise Allah morning and evening.

The reason is very simple, O Muslims, and that is that there is no praising Allah without believing in the Messenger of Allah. You do not know Allah until you submit to the teachings of the Messenger of Allah. There must be first and foremost submission to the Messenger, then the message comes, then the Creator is worshipped. There is no worship of Allah without belief in the Messenger of Allah. This much is of the fundamentals of this religion.

Obedience to the Messenger is Obedience to Allah

And this is why Allah has made this as explicit as possible. So many verses we cannot go over them, but of them we should be aware of them. Allah says in the Qur'an:

Whoever obeys the Messenger, has obeyed Allah. Whoever obeys the Messenger, has obeyed Allah.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

Those who give bay'ah to you, those who swear allegiance to you, they are swearing allegiance to Allah. Allah's hand is on top of their hand. In other words, when they put their hand in the hand of the Messenger ﷺ, Allah is saying, obedience to you, allegiance to you, is allegiance and obedience to Me.

Allah has chosen, and Allah has favored, and Allah has istafa, and Allah has selected, that's why His name is Mustafa, the selected. Allah has excelled over the others, Mujtaba. Mujtaba means He has been excelled and favored over others. Allah in His wisdom has conferred an honor upon Muhammad ﷺ. That honor is that he is Ashraful Makhluqat, he is the most noble of all of the creation. And that honor is that if you wish to worship Allah, you must submit to the teachings of the Messenger of Allah. You must believe in the Messenger, and then and only then can you worship Allah.

Disobedience to the Messenger is Disobedience to Allah

Therefore, if obedience to Him is obedience to Allah, this also means disobeying Him is disobeying Allah. And this is again very explicit in the Quran. Allah says:

They are not rejecting you only, Ya Rasulullah. The zalimin are rejecting Allah. Rejecting you, Ya Rasulullah, is rejecting Allah. It's not just takthib of you, it is takthib of Allah.

And Allah makes this crystal clear in Surah An-Nisa verse 65:

Allah gives a qasam by talking about the Lord of Muhammad, رَبِّكَ, your Lord, it is Muhammad ﷺ. Allah made a qasam using the Lord of Muhammad, فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ, your Lord, Ya Rasulullah, فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ Allah gives a qasam by your Lord, they will never have iman. It is not possible to have iman until what happens, three things.

Number one, حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ Until they take you as the ultimate judge and arbiter, they must submit to you. Number two, ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ They don't have a problem in their hearts with what you have commanded. And number three, وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا They submit to you in totality.

This verse is telling us that if you do not like the message of the Prophet ﷺ, you cannot have iman. If you have a problem with the message of Rasulullah ﷺ, if you cannot submit to him, then you are not submitting to Allah.

Allah's Protection of the Prophet's Honor

And Allah protects the honor of the Prophet ﷺ when the hypocrites made fun of him multiple times in the Qur'an, of them in Surah Tawbah, Allah says:

There are those who irritate a Nabi, there are those who cause harm to a Nabi, and they make fun of him, or they ridicule him, they put him down. يُؤْذُونَ النَّبِيَّ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ أُذُنٌ They say, he is lending his ear to everybody, meaning he's too soft, he listens to the sahaba, he's always compassionate, he listens to what they're saying, and then he undertakes a decision. وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ أُذُنٌ Allah says to the munafiqeen that قُلْ أُذُنُ خَيْرٍ لَّكُمْ Say the fact that he is compassionate and listens, that is better for you. He believes in Allah, and he has faith in the believers, and he is a mercy. وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ He is a rahma for all of you. Then Allah threatens them. وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ Whoever irritates the messenger of Allah will have a painful punishment.

Allah takes on defending the honor of the Nabi ﷺ. And he says to them, the characteristics he has is better for you. And if you dare irritate him, then Allah will take on his honor and punish you for that irritation.

The Command to Show Physical and Spiritual Respect

It is because of this that the Qur'an has come not just with the command to believe in him, not just with the command to submit to him, but the explicit command to show him ultimate respect. There is no belief in the Prophet ﷺ without showing physical and sentimental respect to his persona.

Again, so many verses. Allah says in the Qur'an:

Do not address the Prophet ﷺ like you address one another. Do not address him like you address one another. Do not talk to him like you talk to one another. This is a verse in the Qur'an. So when Allah has chosen the Prophet ﷺ, and he's walking amongst you, yes, he is human, yes, he is flesh and blood, but he is not like any other human. Do not speak to him like you speak to other people. Do not call him by his name.

In fact, as we know, in the whole Qur'an, whenever Allah wanted to address the Prophet ﷺ directly, whenever he addressed him directly, even though he addressed the other Prophets by name, and he says, Ya Adam, and he says, Ya Nuh, and he says, Ya Musa, and he says, Ya Isa, he calls all the Prophets by name, Ya Yahya, Ya Zakariya. Yet, when he called the Prophet ﷺ, the whole Qur'an never has Ya Muhammad, it always has Ya ayyuhan nabi, Ya ayyuhan nabi, O you who is the Prophet, Allah calls him by his title, which is an honor that no other Prophet gets in the whole Qur'an.

So when Allah is demonstrating that you don't call him by his name, then he tells you as well, لا تجعلوا دعاء الرسول بينكم كدعاء بعضكم بعضا. Don't speak to him like you speak to anybody else. And Allah says in Surah Al-Hujurat:

Do not even raise your voice above the voice that he is speaking. Physically show respect, because when you show physical respect, it will lead to spiritual respect. If you have spiritual respect, it will be manifested in physical respect as well. If you truly love the Messenger, if you honor him, as Allah says, تُعَزِّرُوهُ تُوَقِّرُوهُ If you truly honor him, it will be shown even in your physical persona. It will be shown in how you interact with him. And your love will be demonstrated in ways that are physical and not just spiritual.

Showing Love to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Brothers and sisters, how does one show love to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم? We will summarize this in a few points.

First: Believe in His Divine Selection

First and foremost, of the most obligatory of all obligations is that we must believe that he is the one whom Allah has chosen to represent his message and his teachings on earth. Allah has chosen him for the highest task, and that is the task of preaching and teaching to us about Allah, about how to worship Allah. We must believe in him as the one that Allah has chosen as بشير and as نذير and as داعي الله and as سراجاً منيرا. There is no Islam without understanding this.

Second: Accept Him as the Ultimate Role Model

Secondly, when we believe that Allah has chosen him to represent Allah's message and Allah's teachings in mankind, the second point is that we must have certainty that he is the ultimate role model. Anybody who claims that there is another human being that should be followed and obeyed unconditionally, there's another human being that has ultimate loyalty, there's another human being that is the ultimate role model, has rejected the implications of محمد رسول الله ﷺ.

We only have one unconditional role model. Yes, conditional, you may take the good of every person and leave the bad, yes. But unconditional, there's only one person as Imam Malik said, everybody, there's good and bad, he said, everybody, you can take some good and reject something. Then he said, except one, and he pointed to the قبر of the Prophet ﷺ, he's in Madinah, he pointed to the قبر, he said, except for the صاحب هذا القبر, there is nothing but submittance. We don't pick and choose. Whatever the Prophet ﷺ commanded us, we do it. Whatever he told us to not do, we do not do it.

Third: Study His Life and Teachings

So the second commandment or the second way we show that love and that manifestation is by understanding and having certainty that he is the only role model. This should lead us to number three, and that is once we understand he is the caller to Allah, once we understand he is the one whom Allah has chosen, and that he is the perfect example. Number three, if you truly love him, then learn about him. Study his life, study his سيرة, study his سنة.

How can you claim to love and that love is not manifested in curiosity? How can you claim to love and you don't even know the major incidents that happened in his life? How can you claim to love and you don't know the سنة that he left you with? And therefore, study the سيرة, study the سنة, have a curiosity, never be satisfied to understand who the Prophet ﷺ was.

Fourth: Act Upon What You Learn

Number four, once you study, what is the purpose of studying? العلم leads to عمل. So number four, once you've studied, act. And of course, we know, nobody can be perfect, we all know this. I am not perfect, you are not perfect. The goal is not perfection, the goal is to try. The goal is now that I know this is the role model, now that I know this is how he lived, this is how he treated other people, these are the أخلاق that he taught, this is what he said about controlling anger, this is what he said about kindness and compassion. Once you learn that, you try to implement it.

And you know you're not going to be perfect, I'm not going to be perfect. The goal is not perfection, but the goal is you keep on trying. With the علم should come the عمل. And that is you keep on putting it into practice that you learn the سنة and then you try to apply and try your best to be, to try to model your life after the life of the Prophet ﷺ. What is the point of saying he's a role model when you don't actually try to follow him as a role model. So learn the سنة and سيرة and then start changing your lifestyle, start changing your rituals, your عبادات, start changing your bad أخلاق, start perfecting your good أخلاق.

That's the whole point. Literally take him as a role model and then start affecting. That knowledge should affect the way you live, the way you interact, the way you worship, the way you think. That is of the manifestations of belief in him.

Fifth: Send Constant Salawat Upon Him

And the final point that we'll say for this khutbah is that, without a doubt, of the ultimate ways to show love to the Prophet ﷺ is to constantly send صلوات upon him, to constantly say:

To increase your ذكر and your صلوات upon the Prophet ﷺ. To never allow his name to be heard by your ears except that your tongue immediately says, صلى الله عليه وسلم. Never be silent when you hear the name of Muhammad, immediately say, صلى الله عليه وسلم.

And this applies by the way even during the khutbah. Our scholars say, you can't talk during the khutbah but there's one exception that when the name of the Prophet ﷺ is mentioned, at that point, yes, it is a ذكر of Allah. So even during the khutbah you will say, صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Praising Him Through Poetry

And of course, loving him, showing admiration to him, showing respect to him goes many ways. We ask Allah to bless him, we send صلوات upon him. And of the things that historically have always been done is to praise him by writing permissible and good poetry, and to sing poetry in his honor. This was done in his lifetime multiple times, and it continues to be done throughout our times.

Hassan ibn Thabit radiallahu anhu, the poet of the Prophet ﷺ, he wrote multiple poems praising the Prophet ﷺ. And in one of the most famous incidents of the سيرة, Ka'b ibn Zuhair, who was the son of one of the most famous icons of Arabic poetry, Zuhair ibn Abi Salma, who was one of the famous, if you know your Arabic poetry, seven معلقات, سبع معلقات. One of them is Zuhair ibn Abi Salma, he died before Islam. His son, Ka'b. His son Ka'b, in the beginning, he wrote very nasty poems. And so the Prophet ﷺ was very angry at this.

When the conquest of Makkah had occurred, Ka'b realized that he's in trouble, and he wants to now embrace Islam. And so Ka'b, the son of Zuhair, he was also a poet. Ka'b ibn Abi Zuhair, what he did was he wrote a very powerful poem. It is recorded in the books of history. It is recorded in the سيرة of Ibn Ishaq, and in Al-Waqidi, Al-Maghazi, and all of the classical books. And it is one of the classical poems of early Islam.

And it is called بانت سعاد, or Su'ad has departed. And Ka'b put a turban around his face to conceal himself. And he walked in between the crowd. And then when he was in front of the Prophet ﷺ, he stood up, he unfolded the turban, and then he immediately began the poetry, because he was worried about his life. He immediately began the poetry. And the poetry is all in praise of the Prophet ﷺ. This happened in front of him. And it is a beautiful poem. I don't have time to go into all of it. But of the phrases of that poem:

People have said to me that the Prophet ﷺ has threatened that I might be executed. But I am optimistic that I will find عفو with the Prophet ﷺ. Let people say what they want. My knowledge of him, he will forgive me. He will have mercy on me. And he goes on and on.

And one of the most famous lines of that poem, which is one of my favorite lines as well, as you will see why:

That the Prophet ﷺ is a light. That guides other people. لَنُورٌ يُسْتَضَأُ بِهِ He is a light that guides other people. مُهَنَّدٌ He is an Indian sword. This is called مُهَنَّد. مُهَنَّد is an Indian sword. Why is he saying Indian sword? Because for the Arabs, the highest quality sword they could get was a sword from India. And so he said he is مُهَنَّد. He is a sword from India, meaning he is the best sword. مُهَنَّدٌ مِن سُيُوفِ اللَّهِ مَسْلُولُ He is unsheathed in the way of Allah.

So the Prophet ﷺ was described as the highest quality of sword. And of course that sword was the مُهَنَّد sword. And so our brothers and sisters in that part of the world, there's a bit of a humbleness we can have that Ka'ab used this to describe the Prophet ﷺ.

The Original Burda

He gave this poem in front of the Prophet ﷺ. And of course, not only did the Prophet ﷺ forgive him, but as Ibn Ishaq says, he was so happy with this poem, he took off his shawl and he gifted it to Ka'ab. And that's why this is the original بردة. There's another بردة that came 700 years later. This is the original بردة. This is the original بردة that the Prophet ﷺ gave the cloak to Ka'ab.

And then it is said historically, Allah knows how true this is. It is said that, that cloak was preserved by the Umayyads and then the Abbasids, and then finally the Ottomans took it. And then it was the ceremony that the Ottomans used to crown themselves to be the خلفاء until it disappeared amongst the Ottoman times. Well, Allah knows about the truth of that.

Avoiding Extremism in Praise

The point is that, from the سيرة we learn, there's nothing wrong. In fact, it is the سنة to sing beautiful poetry as long as the content of the poetry is permissible and it doesn't go to extreme. And without it, we have to be careful about extreme because the final point we'll say for the first khutbah, indeed the Prophet ﷺ himself warned us of extremism. He said:

Do not exaggerate in praising me. He himself said that. Do not exaggerate in praising me like the Christians did to Jesus. He gave a valid example because if you go too far, you might really go too far. Do not إطراء, and إطراء is exaggerated praise like the Christians did. And never forget, I am عبدالله and رسول. Always remember, I am عبدالله, I am not God, I am not divine, I am not Allah's نور directly. No, yes Allah calls him نور in a metaphorical manner, but he is human being, he is flesh and blood, he ate, he drank, he married, he had children, and he is human being. But he is the best human being, and he is the خاتم الأنبياء, and he is the سيد ولد آدم.

The Greatest Blessing

And so, O Muslims, understand one of the biggest blessings that Allah has given us. In fact, it is factually correct to say, the biggest blessing Allah has given us is Islam, and Islam means belief in Allah and belief in the Messenger ﷺ. And therefore, yes, the biggest blessing that Allah has given us is indeed the blessing of being in the أمة of the Prophet ﷺ.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless me and you with him through the Qur'an, and may he make us of those who his verses they understand, and applies halal and haram throughout our lifespan. Ask Allah's forgiveness, you as well ask him for his غفور and رحمن.

Second Khutbah: Celebrating the Prophet's Birthday

Alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah, the one and the unique. He it is whom we worship, and it is his blessings that we seek. He is the Lord of the oppressed, and he is the prayer of the weak.

As to what follows, know O Muslims that throughout Islamic history, our scholars have looked at the reality of expressing love. And there have been multiple ways to demonstrate that love. And as with all things of a legal nature, sometimes there's a difference of opinion about how that love should be expressed.

And of course in these days, in the time frame that we're in, one of the issues that is a point of contention is the issue of, should we celebrate the birthday of the Prophet ﷺ in a manner more above and beyond simply sending صلوات, above and beyond fasting, above and beyond singing halal poetry, because of course this is all permissible. Should we do some type of ritual on this day?

And O Muslims, I've given longer talks about this reality. But again, we have to now look at this from the lens of 1,000 years of history and contention and back and forth. O Muslims, as we speak, the world is immersed in so much darkness. There's a genocide going on in Gaza. Our own children, many of them are leaving the faith.

Unity in Love for the Messenger ﷺ

We have to prioritize what is important and what are things that we have to civilly agree to disagree over. And I have said for many years that these types of issues that are happening between Ahlus Sunnah, within Sunni Islam, there are different factions, some of them out of love for the Messenger ﷺ. They wanna stick strictly to the letter of the law. They will say, let us not go beyond what we find in the first three generations. And that is good.

And there are others that say, yes, it is true that the first two generations were the best, but they allowed for us a template or framework where we can fine tune. And they give examples of, for example, the Mus'haf. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, how can I do it when the Prophet ﷺ did not do it? And Umar said, no, compile it into one book, it will be better for the ummah. So Umar understood that there's some things you need to do for the benefit of the ummah.

Examples of Accepted Adaptations

Salat al-Taraweeh, the way we do it right now, even the ones who don't celebrate the Mawlid, the way they pray Taraweeh is not how the Prophet ﷺ prayed it. There was no jama'a like this, there was no khatm Qur'an, there was no witr du'a, there was no khatm Qur'an, du'a, witr, without the whole ritual that happens, none of this occurred. And yet the ummah has understood that when you take something that is generic, reading the Qur'an is good, praying is good, Taraweeh is good, and you make it logistically easy for the people, this does not constitute a bid'ah according to that group that allows the Mawlid.

Different Definitions, Same Goal

So understand, and I've spoken academically about this, definitions of bid'ah differ between these two groups. No group wants bid'ah, that's unanimous. No group wants bid'ah. The question is, what is the definition? And the definitions differ between these two strands in a technical manner.

And therefore because of this, O Muslims, and especially in light of the world that we live in, it is not healthy, it is not conducive, and frankly it is not Islamic for two groups of Muslims to hate and to boycott and to say negative things about each other when they are united in the love of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. How can we have hatred for a person who has love for the Messenger? How? How is this possible that you have nothing but anger and overzealousness and you're looking down and what combines you is much more important and that is love of Rasulullah ﷺ.

A Call for Wisdom and Maturity

So I say as bluntly as possible, O Muslims, wisen up, mature up, understand, this difference will not be solved by anger, it's not gonna be solved by fancy debates, live and let live. Those who think it is wrong to celebrate the Mawlid, they do so out of love, may Allah bless them. And those who celebrate the Mawlid as long as it is done within permissibility, which means there should not be intermixing, there should not be exaggerated praise that is beyond Islamic stuff, it should be permissible overall in terms of the content. If they do it in that manner, they also have precedent and they have great scholars on their side.

So live and let live. If you are undecided, then ask your Shaykh that you trust and leave the rest to do as they please. Learn to live with difference of opinion with respect, O Muslims. You're not going to solve these problems and frankly, wallahi I say this bluntly, this should not be a problem anymore. We have far bigger problems to worry about.

We have to reach a level of maturity especially in this land. Don't you think it is so nonsensical that in this land we are less than 1% as Muslims. And within ourselves, those who choose to worship Allah and they love the messenger, we are dividing and breaking into different masjids and that masjid is this and that masjid is that. سُبْحَانَ اللهِ، مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ. This is not wise, O Muslims. And if people back home are doing it, we don't have to import those views over here. We have a different set of problems and we have understood that these problems, what unites us is more than what divides us and the most important thing, we are united in demonstrating love for the messenger of Allah ﷺ.

The Uncontentious Act: Sending Salawat

O Muslims, know that even if celebrating the mawlid or not is contentious, without a doubt, sending salawat upon him is not contentious. Everybody should increase their salawat. Whoever sends one time, Allah will send 10 times. The Prophet ﷺ said, the ones who will be closest to me on the day of judgment will be those who send the most salawat.

He told us that whoever sends salawat, my shafa'ah will become obligatory from on the day of judgment. He told us that whoever sends one salawat, Allah Azza wa Jal will raise him 10 ranks and forgive 10 evil deeds. He told us that the chances of du'a are increased when we send salawat. And he told us that whoever sends more salawat, it will remove the grief and the anxiety of the heart.

And so, O Muslim, rather than bicker amongst ourselves, let us increase our salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ day and night, and let us do exactly as Allah Azza wa Jal has told us in the Quran when he commanded us to send salawat upon him.

Closing Du'a

اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْ لَكُمْ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَكْبَرُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ