Glad Tidings to the Strangers - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah: Glad Tidings to the Strangers

أَحِبَّتِي فِي اللَّهِ — I advise you and myself with the taqwa of Allah, for indeed Allah is with those who have taqwa and those who are of the muhsineen.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah for indeed Allah is worthy and deserving of our constant praise and thanks and gratitude, and I send blessings and salutations upon our beloved, beloved, beloved Messenger Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Living in Difficult Times

Ikhwani fi Allah — we are living in very difficult times, very far removed from the blessed time of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ predicted and prophesized that as time goes on, things will get more difficult and dire.

And often when you think about difficulty, dire situations and problems, what comes to your mind is things related to the dunya — famines, droughts, wars, illnesses. But every time the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would speak about things becoming more difficult, it was related to the faith of the people. Because for us, there is nothing more important than our deen and our iman. Everything else is secondary.

So when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would say things will become difficult — the believers will become strange, Islam will become a strange thing like it once was — it is all to do with iman, with your faith, with your Islam, with your submission, with your deen.

And when we look at times of ease and times of difficulty, you should try to the best of your ability to use that lens when you are assessing how the people are doing. If the people's bellies are full and they have peace and they have safety and security, but they are not praying, they are not giving charity, they are not learning their deen — they are not upon khair as much as we would like to think so. And if we come across a people who are struggling, who are in famine, who are under siege, who are in a war — like our brothers and sisters — but we see that their iman and their faith and their trust in Allah and the ray of tawhid, لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, is strong among them — they are upon khair. And this is a way to look at the world. It is extremely important.

Islam Began as Something Strange

So when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would say times will be difficult — yes, he did say that there will be difficult times as it relates to dunya — but his concern, and our concern, should be the deen. And regarding that, I want to share a few reflections.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 270)

Indeed, the religion of Islam started as a strange thing. I want you to imagine a time where the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was the only Muslim in Mecca, and then slowly our mother Khadijah and Sayyiduna Ali, Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ, and many companions started to join. But they were a small group of people among a city full of idol worshippers and disbelievers. They were looked at as strange, they were looked at as different, they were looked at as people that were in the wrong and the majority was upon the right.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that Islam started as something strange and it will become something strange again like it once was. And this was the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ predicting that there will be a time where the believers that are holding on to their religion — the sisters that are wearing their hijab, the brothers and sisters that are praying their salawat, those whose Islam is their priority — will be looked at as if there's something wrong with them. Something is wrong with you. And that is nothing new. It was done to the prophets and the righteous that came before us.

Glad Tidings to the Strangers

So first and foremost, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ gave glad tidings:

Glad tidings to those strangers — those that do not care what others say. And especially today we are seeing it manifest in many forms. Sometimes it will manifest itself in campaigns against our sisters and their dress code. Sometimes it will manifest itself as campaigns against our beliefs regarding marriage and relationships. Sometimes it will manifest itself in our standing up for our brothers and sisters that are being killed by an evil government, and then we are looked at as wrong, as strange.

It is nothing new, my brothers and sisters. It is nothing new. Find comfort and solace in the promise of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — glad tidings to the strangers, to the ghuraba'. So that's the first thing that you should understand. You are meant to be looked at this way, because the prophets were looked at that way, because Shaytan is always working and is trying to misguide the people. Do not allow yourself to slip into that path. Stay strong. Stand firm. Be among the ghuraba'.

Who Are the Strangers?

Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ described these strangers in several descriptions. One time he said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 3784)

They are a group that came together from different nations and tribes. This shows you that the truth is not with one particular ethnicity or group or nation or tribe. Rather, people from different places will come together to stand up for the truth.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, when he described the strangers, said they are a people that are upon righteousness — a small group of people upon righteousness in the midst of a large group of people upon falsehood and evil. So when you find yourself being different than everyone else, when you find yourself upholding values that people are telling you are backwards, strange, wrong — "get with the times" — remember the statement of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Remember that this is what Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab and the evil people of Quraysh were saying to the believers. It was Fir'awn and his ministers saying to the people of Musa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ. Remember that those upon the truth were always a minority.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 270)

The description the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ gave them is that they are in the midst of a large number of people that are upon falsehood. So what do they do? The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said in a hadith: they are upon righteousness when all are upon evil; they are upon salah when everyone else is upon evil. Meaning: you have to stay righteous. And this is of course a challenge, because as human beings we are people that like to conform. You don't like to look different, you don't like to act different. It is odd to be at work and you're the only one asking for a prayer room. It is odd to walk in the street where everyone's hair is showing and our sisters have to cover up. But you have to remember, my brothers and sisters, that this is your faith. And like I said in the beginning, there is nothing more important to you than your faith. It is not the paycheck that is most important to you. You would rather sacrifice that safety and that security and that peace for your faith. That's what it means to be a Muslim. That's what it means to sacrifice.

The Example of Bilal ibn Rabah

If the righteous predecessors that we look up to were sacrificing everything for Allah — when they left their homes in Mecca and went all the way to a foreign land in Abyssinia for Allah, when they had to leave Mecca and went to Medina for Allah, when they had to endure pain and torture for Allah — they could have conformed, but they didn't. They could have let go of some of their values, but they stood strong.

Allow me to give you an example of staying strong and having patience in the face of everyone telling you to give up. Bilal ibn Rabah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ, when he was being dragged on the hot sand for being a believer and saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, he kept on repeating: أَحَدٌ أَحَدٌ — One, One, One, One. There is only One worthy of worship. And he said something very profound. He said it would bother them when he said that — just like it bothers them today when we stand up for our values. And subhanAllah he said: if I knew any other statement that would hurt them more than what I was saying, I would have said it. He didn't mind being hurt because of what he stood up for. And this is the example that we have to remember and to follow, my brothers and sisters.

Agents of Righteousness and Reform

So the description the Prophet gave them — that they are upon righteousness when all are upon evil — another description that he gave was: they are those that rectify when others corrupt. We are meant to be agents and people who spread goodness, not only within ourselves but onto others. They are those that teach goodness and righteousness, call towards it, preach towards it. They are active in the community trying to rectify while many others are trying to corrupt. They stand up for justice when many others are standing up for injustice. This is what it means to be a Muslim in these times.

In these difficult times, we gain strength from the narrations of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — and remember, what was the point of all these narrations, my brothers, if not to give us a sense of comfort and understanding of the situation that we are in today?

Among the descriptions the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ gave them was that they are people of islah — that they are people of salah. They are righteous within themselves and they rectify others. Now let's pause: how true is that as it relates to us individually? Are we as righteous as we should be? And how active are we in rectifying others? And this starts with you and your home.

Islam Being Untied Knot by Knot

The way this small group — the way these ghuraba' and these strangers — gain salvation and protection is by upholding Islam. That's what makes them special. They uphold Islam. And I want to share with you a hadith of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ where he predicted that Islam will be untied like a knot. Imagine many knots that are tied together and they will start being untied one by one. People are going backwards, leaving off one aspect of the religion, then another, then another. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said each time one of them is unbound, they rush and hold on to the next one until that too comes undone. And he said the first one to be undone will be al-hukm — ruling by Allah's law — and the last one will be the prayer. The last one will be the prayer.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22937; also reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak)

We see this with our own eyes, my brothers and sisters. We have, alhamdulillah, many lands that are filled with Muslims and are ruled by people that hold to Islam. But how effective is the rule when it comes to Allah's law? Interest is everywhere. Immorality is being imported. This is happening because the Prophet predicted it — this is Islam being untied, and it will keep going.

And I want you to remember this, my brothers and sisters: sometimes when we discuss the people that Allah put in charge over us — the rulers in Muslim lands — there is this idea that everything wrong with the Ummah is just because of them. And I want you to remember that they are from us. Now I'm not trying to say that everyone is like them and they are like everyone. But the shu'ub — the people — when Sayyiduna Ali رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ was asked why his people were not as obedient and adherent and loyal to him as the people of the time of Abu Bakr were to him, he said: "Because I am dealing with people like you" — meaning, of course, that the people who are in power over us are part and parcel of the people. And changing that requires changing the shu'ub, changing ourselves, because Allah promised us that.

But there is a larger point I'm trying to make here, which is that the Prophet said the first thing that will change, the first knot that will untie of Islam, will be ruling by Allah's law. The moment when we are not upholding hijab and Islamic education and the laws of Allah and the values that the Prophet taught us in the lands of the Muslims — that is being untied. Then the people go on and hold on to something else. And then akhlaq and righteousness and telling the truth and being honest — all of this will be untied one by one until the last one that is remaining, which is the salah. And when you see that, this is when we are in a very difficult situation.

How to Be Among the Strangers

Now let's ask ourselves: if we want to be among the ghuraba', if we want to be among the strangers, if we want to be among those that are rectifying — we are meant to be upholding those knots that the Prophet mentioned. Meaning, starting from the salah and working backwards. If you want to get to a place where Islam and Islamic values and honesty and truth and tawhid and sunnah are being established, we need to start with ourselves. If you want to be among the ghuraba', you have to be righteous and you have to rectify others. You have to call to Islam. And you are not able to call to Islam and you are not able to call to righteousness if you do not know what righteousness is and if you do not know what Islam is. Hence why we have to educate ourselves, my brothers and sisters.

Because the people that will be taken by the flood — the flood of doubts and the flood of desires — the people that will be washed away will be those that have no strong knowledge of Islam. They don't know right from wrong. This is part of the problem that we have as an Ummah.

And if we want to be among those that will uphold Islam until the very end, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2260)

The one that is holding on to his faith will be like the one that is holding on to a live, hot burning coal. How many of us can do that today? To be able to do that, you need to have an appreciation and understanding of what Islam is. You have to be able to look at the Quran for guidance. You have to be able to look at the Prophet's Sunnah and life and seerah for guidance, his statements for guidance. If you don't know any of this, how are you going to be among those that stand tall and firm for Islam? How? So — knowledge, my brothers.

A Summary of Responsibilities

Allow me to recap the points the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ made.

فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — for those that stay strong on their faith at a time when everyone is telling them no.
فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — for those that are standing up for a people that everyone else is telling them not to.
فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — for those that don't mind losing their jobs, that don't mind losing their livelihood, if it means preserving their faith.
فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — for those that don't mind moving to another land if it means preserving their faith.
فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — for those that don't mind — rather relish in the honor of — standing up for Islam when it is being made more and more difficult.

فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — the Prophet promised Jannah for those. But that comes with a responsibility. And that responsibility, my brothers and sisters, is:

• To be righteous within yourself.
• To rectify others.
• To stand up for Islam above all.
• To educate yourself about your religion — educate yourself about Islam — because you will not be able to stand strong if you do not know right from wrong.

And many of us think that we do know, but wallahi, if you don't spend time learning the deen, having a sense of curiosity — what did Allah say? What did the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ say? — when you read the ahadith that predict the end times and how things will be, wallahi it gives you a sense of comfort: this is what the Prophet was telling me about, this is the time to stay firm.

I ask Allah to make us among those that stand firm and those that are able to hold on to Islam no matter how difficult it is. I say this and ask forgiveness for me and for you and for every Muslim, so ask His forgiveness — indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah: The Reward of Fifty

Alhamdulillah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. I want to finish with a hadith where the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentioned that there will be a time where a great deal of patience will be required. Some will be required to be upon the truth and upon righteousness to the point where the one that is holding on to their deen is like the one holding on to a live, hot coal. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said the one who acts righteously during those times will have the reward of fifty. The Sahabah said: "Fifty of them, O Messenger of Allah?" — meaning, will that one person have the reward of fifty of them? He said: "No, rather fifty of you."

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4341; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3058)

In other words, my brothers and sisters — as the challenges are great and the difficulties are many, and we are living in difficult times — I want you to remember these two things. You standing up for your deen, you being righteous: sometimes it comes in the form of a family where you're the only one in your family practicing. Just the other day, a sister came to me who had started practicing Islam — she wasn't a Muslim before — and her family were putting her through the most difficult time. But she is holding on strong. And I asked her: with all the difficulties — they tried to take her hijab off, they tried to cause all sorts of problems for her — I asked her: despite all of this, how do you feel? She said: "I never felt stronger. I never felt stronger."

Now it could be that the challenge is your family. It could be that the challenge is your friends. It could be that the challenge is society. Whatever the challenge may be, remember the promise of the Prophet — glad tidings for those strangers that stick with it. And remember the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that the reward of those who do righteous deeds because of the difficult nature of those times will be the same reward — not the virtue, for we will never be as virtuous as the companions — but the same reward as fifty of the companions. This should give us comfort, strength and hope.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ