Don't miss this Opportunity! - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah al-Jumu'ah: Don't Miss This Opportunity!

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, and ask for His forgiveness. 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, no partner for Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant, His Messenger, the purest of His creation, and His friend.

Allah has sent him to all people as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the ummah. And he left it on the white path — its night is like its day. Nothing departs from it except the one who is destroyed. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions, and whosoever is guided by his guidance, follows his way, and calls upon his call until the Day of Judgment.

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

O you people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its wife, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, to whom you ask one another, and fear the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great triumph.

My brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, for Allah is deserving of our constant thanks and gratitude and praise. And I send blessings and salutations upon our beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

I'm sure all of us here are aware of the days that we are in. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

Remind, for indeed the reminders are beneficial to the believers.

We need to be constantly reminded. Sometimes you know something, but yet you don't do it. And this is part and parcel of who we are as human beings. We need encouragement. We need to be reminded. And this is why we have the Khutbah al-Jumu'ah every week. This is why we are advised as Muslims to constantly remind each other and advise each other — so that we can benefit from the opportunities that Allah gives us.

And such a great opportunity is here right now, since we are in the midst — or in the beginning, if you will — of the ten days that are the most beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And I really want all of us to reflect upon this.

The Scales Are Tipped in Our Favour

My brothers and sisters, we are going to be in this world for a very short time. 60 years, 70 years, less than that. A very short time. And we will be standing in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when our good deeds and our bad deeds will be weighed. And Allah has given us many opportunities whereby the scales are tipped in our favour. And this is something that the Muslims should understand, because this is the rahmah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Generally speaking, the scales are tipped in our favour. What does that mean? When you do a bad deed, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will only write for you that one sin that you've done, and Allah will never increase it — because that would be oppression. And then Allah gives you the opportunity to erase it as well, through tawbah and repentance, and by performing good deeds, and by following bad deeds with good deeds. So you already have the ability to erase every bad deed you've done.

Now I want you to think about that for a second. Allah has given us the opportunity to erase every bad deed we've done through repentance. And every good deed that we do, Allah automatically multiplies it for us. Isn't Allah the Most Merciful? Every good deed that you do, the minimum amount Allah multiplies it by is ten.

On top of that, Allah has given us times and places where our worship is multiplied immensely. A prayer that you pray in front of the Ka'bah in the Haram is not the same as the prayer that you pray here in this masjid — which is why we are encouraged to perform Hajj and Umrah to gain those rewards. A hundred thousand prayers. Do you know how long you must pray here to gain a hundred thousand prayers? This is the barakah that Allah has put in that blessed land, which we must go to. When we spend our money going on vacation, spend your money going to Hajj and Umrah — because that will help you on the Day of Judgment if you want Jannah and the pleasure of Allah.

Similarly, Allah gives us opportunities where different times are blessed. Allah has blessed different times and Allah has blessed different places. The places such as the Haramain, the Prophet's Mosque, and Masjid al-Aqsa are blessed — the worship you do there is better than the worship you do elsewhere. But that's not the only thing; certain times are also blessed. Such as Ramadan in the year. Such as the day of Friday that we are in today. Such as the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. They are blessed.

The Most Beloved Days to Allah

The Prophet ﷺ said — and ponder over this hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days — meaning the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

Meaning the good deeds that you do today have more reward — much more reward — than the ones you did last week. A passage of Qur'an that you read today has more reward. A good thing that you do for your parents has more reward. Your prayer has more reward. Everything. So you need to be switched on and not treat these days as you do the rest of the year.

I'll give you a very good example: Ramadan. Alhamdulillah, we are always switched on during Ramadan. Everyone is aware that Ramadan is different. The mosques are full. People are giving more charity. Have you noticed how much charity people give during the month of Ramadan, especially towards the last ten nights? Because there is a lot of awareness.

Don't miss this opportunity. We need to raise more awareness. These days are better and more beloved than the last ten days of Ramadan. The Prophet ﷺ said there are no days in the year that are more beloved. So spend them in good deeds.

Be aware of it. When you go home, if you have a certain routine, that routine needs to change. If you never used to pray your sunnahs, pray your sunnahs now. If you never used to give charity, start giving charity in these days. If you used to give charity, then increase it. Because, ikhwanifillah, once these ten days are over, they're gone. And have we got a guarantee we're going to be there for the next ones? None of us have that guarantee. So benefit from this opportunity — ikhtanim. Don't let it go to waste, lest you meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with these days blank — or even worse, with these days filled with sin instead of good deeds.

Allah Swears by These Days in the Qur'an

My brothers and sisters, my advice to myself and to all of you is: when the Prophet ﷺ tells us that these days are the most beloved to Allah, and when Allah swears by them in the Qur'an — Allah says:

By the dawn and by the ten nights. And the scholars of tafsir and the Sahaba said these ten nights are referring to the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

And where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

And let them remember the name of Allah and do dhikr on the appointed days — the specific days — talking about these ten days.

When the Sahaba would encourage each other to do more worship, we need to be switched on. Do not miss this opportunity. We need to see the change in our behaviour — in our homes, in the way we are living. Every single Muslim needs to have these days marked in his calendar, the same way we have Ramadan marked in our calendar, the same way we should have Friday marked in our calendar.

And what's going to happen if we're not astute and aware and don't know what day is better than the rest? What happens to us on Fridays? Every single Friday, like today, the last hour of the day is sa'at al-ijabah — when you make du'a to Allah, Allah accepts your du'a. How many of us are aware of that? You need to be aware. Similarly the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Similarly Ramadan. Similarly all the times that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has blessed — like the day of Ashura, which if you fast, Allah will forgive the previous year's sins.

The day of Arafah falls within these ten days — it will be on Thursday, inshallah. On that day, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1162)

Fasting the day of Arafah — Allah will forgive the previous year's sins and the year that is coming. Look at all those opportunities.

Isn't the one who is not aware, or doesn't care, or doesn't change his behaviour in these ten days — and acts like it's a regular week, and it passes — isn't that person someone who is wasteful, ikhwanifillah? Let's fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and use the opportunities Allah has given us. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the khutbah, the scales are tipped in our favour. Allah is showering us with His mercies and giving us these opportunities. We shouldn't waste them.

The Second Part of the Khutbah

Treat These Days Like the Last Ten Nights of Ramadan

My brothers and sisters, Ramadan wasn't too long ago. And many of us might feel that we could have done better in Ramadan. And you could always do better — not to belittle the good that you've done, but to also strive to always do better. If you feel like you could have done better, you have these ten days right now. Treat them as you would treat the days of Ramadan, especially the last ten nights. Spend them in worship.

What Acts of Worship Are Recommended?

Now the question is: what types of worship are recommended — what should we do? Brothers and sisters, when something is blessed like these ten days, any good that you do will automatically be multiplied immensely anyway. So do as much good as possible.

And as a general rule, the obligatory acts of worship always have more reward than the sunnah acts of worship. That's something you always have to remember. For example, Dhuhr, which is an obligatory prayer, has more reward than the nafl night prayer. This is a general rule, and Allah said in the Hadith al-Qudsi:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than that which I have made obligatory upon him.

So what do I mean by this? Focus on the obligations. Do the things that are wajib upon you well — number one. So your daily prayers — pray them on time. Try to come to the mosques, especially now that it's a bit more challenging to come. The extra effort that you put in, inshallah Allah will give you more reward for it.

Dhikr: Remembrance of Allah

Similarly, there are many recommended acts of worship that you can do. For example, dhikr — increase your remembrance of Allah. The tahmeed, the tahleel, and the tasbeeh. The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith that during these ten days you should do more takbeer, tasbeeh, and tahmeed. So say الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ.

The companions during these ten days would go out into the market and the town reciting the takbeer out loud and encouraging people to do the same — to remind them that these days are different from any other day of the year.

Fasting the Ten Days

Another act of worship that is highly recommended is fasting — fasting these ten days. Well, you can't fast the tenth day because that's the day of Eid, but the nine days before that. If you can fast all of them, that is great, and there is a hadith that mentions that the Prophet ﷺ used to fast all nine days. If not, if you can fast some of the days, that would be great as well. But most definitely do not miss out on fasting the day of Arafah — the ninth day, the day before Eid. Do not miss out on fasting that day at the very least.

Why These Days Are So Special: All Five Pillars

Also, ikhwanifillah, among the great acts of worship that should be done — but which will be very difficult, if not impossible for us — is of course Hajj, which happens during this time. And the scholars, when they talk about why these days are so special, they say: it is the only time of the year where all five pillars of Islam can be performed simultaneously. Because Hajj is being done. People are fasting. People can give Zakat. People are praying. And of course the Shahadatayn, which we should say all the time anyway. So all five pillars can be enacted during this time, as Ibn Hajar mentioned, which gives this time a very special status.

We also know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala frees the most slaves from Hellfire and guarantees them Jannah on the day of Arafah. So we need to be aware of all of that, ikhwanifillah.

A Word on Hajj

And finally, my final point is going to be regarding Hajj itself. Ikhwanifillah, this year we cannot go to Hajj. But generally speaking, Muslims are quite neglectful with regards to the act of worship of Hajj. We see it as something we don't have to do, or something that you can do later on in life. We think it is okay to go on many vacations and not go to Hajj. We rarely think of saving for Hajj, especially the younger folks — "you know what, I'm putting money aside so that I can perform the ibadah of Hajj" — as if it's not a pillar of Islam, as if it's something that's just recommended.

This is an act of worship that is among the pillars of Islam. It is obligatory upon us, especially those who are capable. Now if you don't have the money, then Allah will not ask you to do something that you are not able to do. But we need to treat Hajj as the kind of ibadah it is. It is a lifetime opportunity and we should all plan for it. In fact, my advice to the younger folks is: do Hajj while you're still strong — because if you do Hajj when you're older, you will struggle with many of the acts of worship. And this is very important to remember.

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, the great scholar, said that Allah knew how the Muslims yearned for Hajj — how the Muslims yearned to go to the House of Allah — but many of them are not able to go. So when they know that people will be saying:

— and going to the House of Allah to perform this great act of worship — many people around the world cannot do it, and they are saddened by this fact. So Allah has given them these ten days. These ten days are a gift from Allah for those of us who cannot go to Hajj. We can still gain these great and immense rewards.

So my point is: let's not miss this great opportunity. Let's benefit from it. Let's fear Allah and use the blessings He has given us.

Du'a

I ask Allah to give us the tawfiq and understanding to benefit from these acts of worship. I ask Allah to forgive our sins, to accept our repentance, and to make us of those who regularly worship Him. I ask Allah to not make us of those who are neglectful with regards to these amazing opportunities. And to accept all our acts of worship.

Alhamdulillah rabbil 'alamin, wa aqim al-salah.