Jumu'ah Khutbah - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah Opening

أَحِبَّتِي فِي اللَّهِ، إِخْوَتِي فِي الْإِسْلَامِ — أُوصِيكُمْ وَنَفْسِي بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I ask Allah to bless this gathering and I start by praising Him and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved Messenger Muhammad, salawatullahi wa salamuhu alayh.

The Blessed Month of Sha'ban

My brothers and sisters, we are in a very, very special month and I'm sure many of you are already aware that we are in the month that leads up to Ramadan. In fact, we are at the midpoint — so in about two weeks or so the blessed month of Ramadan will start. I ask Allah to make us among those that reach it healthy and in a great state of iman.

The months and the different times that we come across and the different seasons in the year — they have a lot of relevance for the believer. This is why it's extremely important, and we have mentioned this many times from this minbar, that you are aware of what time you are in and the importance given to different times — not just Ramadan. For the believer is one that constantly looks at opportunities: opportunities for worship, opportunities for barakah, opportunities where you can do more khair and gain more ajr and reward.

The Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam — our Prophet, the one whom we emulate and want to be like as much as we can — would fast often in this month. He would fast often in this month as much as he could, to the point where his beloved wife and our mother Aisha, radiallahu anha, said it almost felt like — or it was like — he fasted the whole month. And this shows you the sunnah in Sha'ban is to fast many, many days of it, and if you can, at least ensure that you are fasting some.

The other thing that we have to keep in mind — and this is more significant for our sisters but it goes for everyone else as well — is that Ramadan is approaching, and you need to look at whether you have any fasts that you need to make up. You are not allowed to let the year continue and have Ramadan start when you have some fasts that were obligatory upon you and you haven't done them. So ensure that if you have any qada — any fast that you need to make up — left over, whether that was days that you were ill or sick or travelling or any other reason, especially for our sisters, ensure that you start fasting now if you haven't been doing so and look at how much time you have left.

The Night of the Middle of Sha'ban

In any case, there are many, many barakahs and blessings in the month that we are in. There is one particular hadith that I would like to share with you, and that is where the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said that on the middle night of this month, Allah looks at His servants and forgives them all — except for one who is an idolater, someone that worships others besides Allah, and one that is a mushāhin — one who has hatred, anger, and envy towards others in his heart.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1390; classified as Hasan by many scholars)

So if you are among those — and the midpoint of Sha'ban was last night — if you are among those, then you don't benefit from the forgiveness that Allah gives and this rahmah. If you have anger towards others, hatred towards others — this is not the way of the believer.

Deeds Presented Every Monday and Thursday

In fact, there is a very similar hadith that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, mentioned — that every Thursday and every Monday the deeds are taken to Allah. Now I want you to remember this: every Monday and every Thursday your weekly deeds are taken to Allah. And as they are, Allah accepts them — except for those who have anger and hatred and envy and animosity towards each other. Those deeds are not taken to Allah, and Allah says: wait and hold them until they reconcile, until they show love to each other again.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 747; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2565 — related narration on deeds being withheld from those who harbour enmity)

This shows you again the importance and the emphasis that is given to how we treat each other and how we feel about each other. Sometimes it's not just what you do — Allah and the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, were talking about your heart, how you feel towards others. And you need to look towards your heart and rectify it.

For one that understands the limits of this dunya, the greatness of Allah, the vastness of akhira — would not keep in his heart something as petty as enmity. You would get rid of that, because you know that as much as you feel that others have wronged you, you know that you want Allah to forgive you — so forgive them. This is what Allah told us in the Quran:

The scholars say that this verse — when Allah said "forgive and let go, do you not want Allah to forgive you? Do you not love for Allah to forgive you?" — this was revealed as a response in the context of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, radiallahu anhu. It was during the time when people spoke ill of his daughter and our mother Aisha, radiallahu anha — and we all know the story of al-Ifk — when they blamed her for something she didn't do and spread rumors about her that were not true. Among the people involved was Mistah, a companion of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and Abu Bakr would give him provisions and help him, and decided that he was going to stop. And Allah told him that he shouldn't stop — he should forgive. Rather, he should forgive. "Do you not love for Allah to forgive you?"

And this is for all of us. If you want Allah to show you mercy, show others mercy. If you want Allah to forgive you, show others forgiveness. And this — as parents — involves your children. As husbands and wives, it involves your spouses, your neighbors, your friends. They will definitely wrong you, and when they do, forgive them. Forgive them. Get into the habit of letting go, for wallahi, that is greater than whatever you are feeling — no matter how much they have done to you, no matter how ill you feel or how much wrong they have done to you. Take the higher road. Be more like the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Be more like those that are close to Allah and adhere to this verse: forgive. Forgive. Do you not want Allah to forgive you? We all want Allah to forgive us — so remember this every time. When our deeds are being taken, the last thing you want is for your deeds not to be taken to Allah.

Why the Prophet Fasted in Sha'ban

Another interesting fact to remember is that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when he was asked why he fasted so much in Sha'ban, he said: because it is this month that all our deeds are taken to Allah. And this is something that you have to keep in mind.

(Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 2357; classed as Hasan)

Yes, the year starts for us Muslims — the calendar starts at Muharram and it finishes at Dhul Hijjah — but from an Islamic perspective, your new year is Ramadan. This is why you have many narrations that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said from one Ramadan to the other, Allah forgives — and that means your account is closed this month, and then you have a fresh start in Ramadan and you continue on. So Sha'ban is really important. Imagine you knew and were aware that everything you've done the previous year is being taken to Allah — how much repentance and how many good deeds would you want to do? This is why it's important that we are always mindful of when it is and what's going on.

Preparing for Ramadan

Again, my dear brothers and sisters — Ramadan is approaching. We need to prepare for it. Prepare your heart for it. Prepare your mind for it. Prepare your families and your children for it. Get into the habit of reading more Quran, coming more to the masjid, increasing your worship and your prayers so that it becomes easier for you. You don't want to have that struggle in the beginning of Ramadan. This is why the advice to all of you is to keep on doing many, many acts of ibadah and ask Allah to make you among those that reach Ramadan healthy and in a great state of iman.

Mercy, Forgiveness, and Charity

My brothers and sisters, when you read the Quran and the Sunnah of our Prophet, you'll find a pattern: Allah loves those who show mercy. Allah loves those who show forgiveness. Allah loves those who take care of others. And as Muslims, that's what we do — and this is our identity.

The Prophet in Ramadan — the time where he would exert himself the most in worship — he would also exert himself the most in charity. And every time, my dear brothers and sisters, prayer is mentioned in the Quran, almost every single time, charity is mentioned as well. And this really signifies the life of the believer. Your prayer is your relationship with Allah — this is why Salah comes from the word silah, your connection to your Creator. You are in need of it, so constantly pray and pray as often as you can. And then Allah also wants you to be there for His creation — to help them and support them — which is why often the Zakat is mentioned alongside it.

This is why there is such great virtue in charity. And my dear brothers and sisters, we as an Ummah need to be helping each other more. We need to be giving more sadaqah, especially because we are an Ummah that is meant to take care of each other. We will be asked about our neighbors and those that are in need and those that are less fortunate. And this is why there is a lot of responsibility — especially on those among us that are more fortunate and can give sadaqah.

Giving Equally — Charity for Africa

Alhamdulillah, here at this masjid we raise for many projects — and you are all aware of it, especially the congregation that comes here regularly. And there is a pattern that has been seen. This pattern, my dear brothers and sisters, I don't believe came about by design or on purpose — but all of the charities, whenever a project is being raised for countries in Africa, they struggle. To the point, my dear brothers and sisters — and I am sharing this with you as information — to the point that actual charities, and we are talking about the major charities, they second-guess themselves when they want to raise a project for a country in Africa because no one is going to give. So they think to themselves: well, we need to help someone, so they choose to do general collections and then give a portion to these countries that are suffering — either from hunger or anything else in Africa.

This is something that, when I found out, I couldn't believe it personally. And I'm sure some of you are like: well, that doesn't make any sense. But my dear brothers and sisters, this is something that has been seen. Now I think that once this issue is raised, people may pay more attention or they will start noticing it.

My dear brothers and sisters, we are believers. I look at this masjid — I see people from so many different backgrounds and areas. What brought us together? Allah. Our love of Allah. لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ binds us and we are believers. So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is a statistic that is very hurtful.

When something is being raised, keep that in mind. I think there are many factors — among them is that when something happens in a country that is not well-known to be struggling, everyone will get up and say: we need to help them, because it's something new. "Oh, this country is suffering — let's help them." And this is fine, it makes sense. Or sometimes you don't hear about it enough. But my dear brothers and sisters, it really doesn't matter if we are raising funds for Afghanistan or any other country — or Syria, or Uganda, or Somalia — it shouldn't matter for us. We give. We give to get closer to Allah. We give to help those who are in need. This is the believer's way. And I ask all of you to contribute generously to whatever project we are raising for, and that this discrepancy that is being noticed is gotten rid of to the best of our ability.

Closing Du'a

I conclude here, inshallah, my dear brothers and sisters. I ask Allah to make us among those that take care of their fellow brothers wherever they are. I ask Allah to forgive our shortcomings and our sins. I ask Allah to bless this gathering.

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ — Brothers, there will also be a janazah prayer straight after the salah, inshallah, so we'll do that straight after and then you can pray inshallah.