Jumuah Khutbah | Shaykh Uzair Mohsin

The Importance of Consistency in Worship

Whatever they do, they must be consistent, and they must worship Allah without any breaks in the middle. There is no option or a choice that, today I don't feel like praying. Nah, forget it. There is no option like that. Once we have committed, we said, once we say, رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ - Allah is our Lord. ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا Fulfill everything that you have promised Him.

And just like that, when we recite this ayah, we need to understand, the situations around us are, Allah created everything around us. Allah created us, and Allah creates the situations that are around us. And to test us to see sometimes, the situations around us are conducive for the worship of Allah. So we worship Allah.

And just like that, Allah has created situations around us that will not be conducive to the worship of Allah. It will be very difficult to pray. It will be very difficult to recite the Qur'an. It will be very difficult to give sadaqah. It will be very difficult to be a Muslim. But that is the time where Allah is looking for consistency. And that is when Allah is testing you.

That Allah will never ever burden a soul more than they can manage, more than they can take on. Allah knows us better than we know ourselves.

The Prophet's Guidance on Consistency

On one occasion the Prophet ﷺ, he was addressing one Sahabi. And the Prophet ﷺ built relationship with the Sahaba around him. And he would talk to them and he would be very frank with them and he would be very comfortable with them and he would take their names as well. One occasion one Sahabi, he was addressing the Sahabi, he was giving him advice and he said:

That, O Abdullah, the Prophet ﷺ, he brought that closeness when he addressed the Sahaba. And he addressed them and he said, O Abdullah, don't be like so and so. You know another thing is, this is a lesson that we learn from the Prophet ﷺ. When you are talking about somebody's misdeeds, when you're talking about some shortcoming of another person, you never take their name. Look at how the Prophet ﷺ is addressing and he says, فُلَانَ Don't be like so and so. He didn't say, don't be like Abdullah, don't be like Umar, don't be like Uthman, don't be like him, don't be like that. He just said, don't be like that individual. That he used to worship Allah at night and eventually he stopped.

Think of this as an example, that as an example that the Prophet ﷺ is giving us, that consistency is very important in our daily lives.

Questions for Self-Reflection

So my brothers and sisters, I pose this question to all of us here today. How long will this be the notion that we worship Allah only in Ramadan? How long will this be the notion that we worship Allah when we find ourselves in the masajid? How long will this be the notion when we go for hajj and umrah, we will be on our best behavior and we will worship Allah?

Aisha (r.a) was asked, what was one thing about the Prophet ﷺ that stood out to you? She said, everything about the Prophet ﷺ was amazing, was beautiful. But one thing that stood out to me was that anytime that he took on a deed, anytime he started doing a nafil ibadah, anytime he started doing a worship of Allah, he would never leave it until he parted from this world.

Worship Allah until reality comes to you. What is reality? Death. Until death comes to you, worship Allah. We don't get to pick and choose that today I will miss fajr, tomorrow I won't fast, I will not give zakat this year. This is something that we need to change and this is something that we need to understand that we've committed to Allah and we need to be consistent and we need to show up.

The Example of Abu Bakr's Steadfastness

One incident that I want to share with all of us is at the time of Abu Bakr (r.a) when the Prophet ﷺ passed away. Historians write this was the scariest time for Islam. And the Prophet of Allah ﷺ passed away, all of the sahaba were... It was a complete mess. It was an occasion where people took to their advantage that some people they said, we're not going to pray, we're not going to give zakat, we are going to do this, we're going to do that and we're not going to worship Allah.

To the extent that the Prophet ﷺ dispatched the army of Usama (r.a) for a certain task. That army had left Medina but the news of the passing away of the Prophet ﷺ reached them and that army came back to Medina. Now all of these situations are right around on the shoulders of Abu Bakr (r.a). And these are things that are there and this is how Allah tested Abu Bakr (r.a). Where there are so many occasions that were around him but he was steadfast in the worship of Allah.

You know, situations will change. Sometimes circumstances will be conducive to worship Allah. And then sometimes it will be very difficult. You know, we are worshipping, we're praying, and we're praying five times a day, we're doing everything that we're supposed to do and sometimes some occasion comes, maybe a wedding, maybe certain situation, anything that comes up, salah goes out the window. Certain restrictions that we put on ourselves to be closer to Allah goes out the window.

The Consequence of Abandoning Good Deeds

The Prophet ﷺ he mentioned that a'mal, they can be wasted in two ways. One is where the Prophet ﷺ he cautioned the sahaba. And he said, don't be like so and so, don't start a certain action and then leave it.

You know, when a person starts worshipping Allah, think of it like this, when we pray tahajjud, when we get up at night to worship Allah before fajr, and we're praying it every single night, and Allah commands the angels, build a palace for this individual, he worships me and beautify it every single night. The more he worships, the beautify it more, even more every time he stands up for prayer.

Eventually he'll come to a point where the angels will be in jannah and they will see this house that some of the part of the roof is missing, some of the bricks are missing, some of the windows are not there. And the angels will have a conversation amongst themselves and they will say, what's going on, why is this palace incomplete? The answer will be given, the raw material stopped coming in. This individual used to worship Allah, but eventually he stopped worshipping Allah. The raw material is not there, the palace is incomplete. Continuing the worship of Allah is very, very important.

Abu Bakr's Response to Crisis

Going back to Abu Bakr (r.a), it was at a time where the Prophet ﷺ, when he passed away, there were so many things that were going wrong. And all of the sahaba, they came to a point, imagine yourselves in a situation when a close relative, somebody that you're... a dear friend of yours passes away. What is our situation? What is our condition? We can't even talk to the people next to us. We can't look people in the eye because we're so sad.

Now imagine Abu Bakr (r.a), with the demise of the Prophet ﷺ, with the nomination of being the leader, with people that are renegating and they're leaving Islam. People are saying, we don't want to pray. People are saying, we don't want to give zakat. People are saying, and they're claiming prophethood. Abu Bakr (r.a) is faced with this challenge.

Aisha (r.a), she was asked about this particular moment, at the death of the Prophet ﷺ. And she said it very eloquently, very beautifully, she says:

That wallahi if a task like this was to be put on a mountain, that mountain will become dust. That mountain would become dust. So many situations around Abu Bakr (r.a) and so many situations that he has to face.

The biggest issue that he had to face was that the sahaba at that time, that the army of Usama is there, there's so many things that are happening, so many things need to be taken care of. Abu Bakr (r.a), he seeks counsel from the sahaba, and the big sahaba that he's expecting support from, they say, be passive. It's okay. Let time solve it. The Prophet ﷺ just passed away. If we send the army out, Medina will be empty. So many different things.

At this moment, Abu Bakr (r.a), he gets a little sad. And he calls Umar (r.a), and he says, Umar, he'll help me. He'll be my backbone. He'll support me. And Abu Bakr (r.a), he calls Umar (r.a), and to his astonishment, Umar (r.a) says the same thing. He says, be passive. Be patient. It's okay. Let time solve it.

Abu Bakr (r.a), he gets upset. He uses a phrase, he uses a sentence where SubhanAllah, it shows the amount of anger Abu Bakr (r.a) was in. He says:

Oh Umar, you were the biggest and the bravest before you accepted Islam at the time of Jahiliyyah. And now that you have accepted Islam, where is your strength? Where is your power? Why are you acting like this? I was expecting support from you.

Abu Bakr's Powerful Speech

Abu Bakr (r.a), he's sad, and he ascends the pulpit in the Masjid Nabawi, and he addresses all of the Sahaba. He starts with the ayah:

That Muhammad ﷺ is a major part of our deen. Nobody can ever deny that. The Prophet ﷺ is a major part of our deen. But Allah is asking all of us this question and to the Sahaba at that time, and Qur'an is transcendent. It's not only for the Sahaba, it's for us as well. قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ That Prophets came before the Prophet ﷺ. And if a situation happens where the Prophet passes away, will you stop worshipping Allah? Will you stop worshipping Allah at this moment?

At this, you know the Sahaba, they were taken back a little bit. And there's one beautiful moment, there's one beautiful sentence Abu Bakr (r.a) says, which is attributed to him. And he says:

How can deficiency come inside of deen when I'm still alive? How can I allow this? How can I allow deficiency to come inside of deen when we are alive? We should all be asking ourselves this question. Have we compromised anywhere in the worship of Allah?

He continues and he addresses the Sahaba. And he's telling them, I do not possess the authority. The Prophet ﷺ dispatched the army of Usama. The Prophet ﷺ demanded us, Allah commanded us to establish salah, to give zakah, to be Muslims, and to do all of the things that we're supposed to do. The worship that we did at the time of the Prophet ﷺ must continue after he passes away. We cannot put a stop to that. We cannot end the worship of Allah.

And he says, I do not possess the authority to hold back the army of Usama and they must go out. And they must go. And if I'm the only one to go out, I will go. أَيَنْقُصُ الدِّينُ وَأَنَا حَيٌّ How can deficiency come inside of deen when I'm still alive?

And then he continues and he says:

Which sky will give me shade if I am to change my piety?

Which earth will protect me if I am to stop worshiping Allah? If I do not fulfill the commandments of Allah?

The Impact on the Sahaba

This was mentioned at the time of Abu Bakr (r.a). When he addressed the sahaba, the sahabi Anas (r.a), he makes a very profound statement. And he says at the time when the Prophet ﷺ passed away, we finished the burial and the dust and the sand was still on our hands from the grave of the Prophet ﷺ. We felt a change in our iman.

The Consistency and Courage of Abu Bakr

But it was the consistency of Abu Bakr radiyallahu anh that kept us connected to Islam. Umar radiyallahu anh was approached once in his life. And one person came to him and he said:

"I think that you Umar, you are better than Abu Bakr." Umar radiyallahu anh replied, and he said:

He said that one day of Abu Bakr radiyallahu anh, that day where he stood up against everybody. And he said that we have to continue worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the same way we worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when the Prophet ﷺ was alive. It cannot change now. And he was talking about that particular day. That that day, forget my whole life, forget the whole life, that one day is better than Umar and the whole family of Umar. That's Abu Bakr radiyallahu anh and he stood up to the challenge.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept all of us. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive all of us. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us the consistency of worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when times are difficult.

Navigating Deception in Our Times

We are living in a world where deception is at its peak. That we are looking at certain things and they are not the truth. There are lies being told and they are leading us to deception. The only way we can come through that fog and we can see through that fog is by staying connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

One of the biggest ways and one of the most helpful ways to stay connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is by staying connected to the places and the people of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When we build those connections, we will see how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes all of this confusion a little bit more bearable, a little bit more understandable in these rough times.

Du'a for the Ummah

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept all of us. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for all of those Muslims that are going through any types of hardships. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala cure all of those that are sick. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive all of those that have passed away. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant them Jannatul Firdaus.

All of our Muslim brothers and sisters in any part of the world that are going through any turmoil, any difficulty, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala find them safe haven. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep them safe. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us the ability and the courage to be steadfast and become the Abu Bakr of this time where we stand up towards what is wrong and we speak for justice.

Closing Prayers and Reminders

Brothers and sisters, please fill up all the empty spaces and turn off your cell phones inshallah, soften your shoulders so we can accommodate anybody, especially the people that are standing outside so they have space to come in inshallah.