Earning Allah's Forgiveness in Muharram - Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Khutbah al-Jumu'ah — Muharram: Seeking Allah's Forgiveness

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَسْتَهْدِيهِ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ.

وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، أَرْسَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَيْنَ يَدَيِ السَّاعَةِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُنِيرًا.

وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ الطَّيِّبِينَ الطَّاهِرِينَ وَمَنْ سَارَ عَلَى نَهْجِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

Amma ba'd. Indeed, the best of speech is the book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ, and the worst of matters are newly invented ones, and every newly invented matter is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is a going astray, and every going astray is in the Fire.

Indeed and surely all praise and thanks belongs to Allah the Most High. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is his final messenger.

The Purpose of Divine Revelation

On each occasion when Allah revealed wahi — revelation — to the prophets and messengers from the beginning of time, one of the objectives of this wahi, of this revelation, is to remind of course the people what their purpose is, to educate them what is ma'ruf and what is munkar — that which is deemed to be good and pleasing to Allah, and that which is evil and wrong and which displeases Allah.

That was no different in that what was given to our beloved Nabi Muhammad ﷺ. Al-Quran, the book of Allah, was there to re-educate mankind about, remind them about their purpose to worship Allah alone — لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ — and that He has no partners. To remind us about the reality of what it is to believe in Allah and to do away with these false deities, whether they were worshipping people, worshipping graves, worshipping trees and stones, or even the animals. The book of Allah reminds us that it is only Allah who is the one who has the right to be worshipped.

To correct our behavior — how we deal with one another, to uphold trusts, the amanat, the rights of people, what is due to somebody and how to fulfill that, fulfilling the promises between one another. All of this is mentioned in the book of Allah — a clarification for everything that you and I, that we need to know.

And also it is a reminder that if people are left to their own devices, left to their own desires, they will create a way of life for themselves which ultimately will bring oppression and wrongdoing to one another. They will forget what is ma'ruf and they will forget what is munkar. They will become oblivious to that which is good and that which is bad, and the rights that are due to one another. The rich and the powerful — because the say or the statement is within their hands — they will command and prohibit what they believe to be right, whether that is based upon money, position, deals, all types of wrongdoing. If people are left to their own devices, societies unfortunately will have to get used to this type of behavior with one another.

And how many examples can we go throughout history where tyrants, tyrannical leaders — Fir'aun is mentioned in the Qur'an — how he thought he was eventually an ilah, a deity to be worshipped, that people had to submit to him, that he believed he could give life and take life. It is unfortunate: people who turn away from the guidance of Allah — that is what happens to a people. We move to modern times and we see similar parallels that are drawn. But is this something that we as Muslims need to be surprised about? No, not necessarily.

The Strangers (Al-Ghuraba')

Because the Prophet ﷺ told us:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 145)

Islam began as something strange. The people worshipped hundreds of idols. Islam came to remind them: only worship one ilah, the rightful ilah, Allah. Not to bury your daughters. Not to buy and sell women in this manner. But everybody has huqooq — rights. So Islam was at one particular time something very strange. And now, more than 14 centuries later, you mention these same huqooq, these same rights that are given to men and women, old and young, regardless of color and race and nationality — again, Islam is something strange.

However, the Prophet ﷺ said: فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ — give glad tidings to those strangers. فَقِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنِ الْغُرَبَاءُ — the Prophet ﷺ was asked: who are these strangers, O Messenger of Allah? And he ﷺ said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 3986; and in another narration: Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2629)

And in another narration: الَّذِينَ يَصْلُحُونَ إِذَا فَسَدَ النَّاسُ. Sentences in Arabic may seem very similar, but there is a subtle difference between the two. Here the Prophet ﷺ says that these ghuraba' are those people who rectify what the people have ruined. The goodness that was established and the people have ruined it — those ghuraba', those strangers, are trying to rectify what has been ruined by the people. And in another narration: those who rectify the people who have ruined themselves. So everything — the people themselves have been ruined, and what is around them has also been ruined. اللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ. But the ghuraba', those strangers, are those who try to rectify the environment and those living in the environment. And those who uphold that — طُوبَى لَهُمْ — glad tidings for them, the paradise for them, in sha Allah ta'ala.

Shahr Allah Al-Muharram — The Sacred Month

Now, bearing this in mind — the importance of Islam to rectify the beliefs of people, what we should be like in a society as Muslims — I want to mention Shahr Allah Al-Muharram. The month that we have just entered, the first month of the Islamic calendar, Al-Muharram, one of the sacred months.

There are four sacred months within the year — three of them that are together, and one on its own: Dhul Qa'dah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram, and then Rajab. Allah tells us:

That there are twelve months within the year, and that four of them are sacred. So do not oppress yourselves within these months. Does that mean that in the other eight months you get a pass? No. It is an emphasis that within these sacred months, any sins that you commit are much graver, much more serious. But also the good deeds that you do — inshallah — there is a greater reward as well. But for the whole year, of course, oppression is made haram, wrongdoing is haram. But these four months in particular — inshallah — be very aware of how you behave in front of Allah.

So this month marks not only the first month of the year. Is it a time for celebration, New Year celebration? No, we don't have that within Islam. But nonetheless, it is a reminder for us that another year has passed after the hijrah of Rasulullah ﷺ. That the messenger and the Muslims made that journey from Mecca, made that sacrifice to live in Medina and to remain patient for eight years in Medina until they could return to Mecca and return Mecca to its rightful state — to worship Allah alone. For us to ponder over that — another year of the Islamic calendar, another year of your life has passed — for you to take heed, for you to think about: what have I done in the last year? What do I want to do? This isn't New Year's resolutions, by the way. But it is just a tadabbur for you to think about your existence and the time that you have spent and whatever time you have left in the future.

Musa Alayhi Salam and the Lesson of Reliance upon Allah

It is also a month in which we remember Musa alayhi salam — this story which is mentioned more frequently than any other story in the Quran, and ultimately it is a story of victory — a victory of Islam, of tawheed — over oppression and a tyrannical leader.

The story of Musa alayhi salam — you read it from the beginning to the end. And when you envision Musa alayhi salam at the edge of the sea, and he is told to take Bani Isra'il into the sea — this pivotal moment in the story of Musa alayhi salam, within itself as an incident, is amazing. But when you read from the beginning how Musa alayhi salam — one of the greatest messengers of Allah — was protected, preserved, helped, and aided by Allah through his entire mission to reach this moment — when you have that backdrop, to walk into the sea and to be drowned, or to turn back and to be killed by Fir'aun and his army.

But the people said: إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ — that we have been captured, it is over for us. And at this particular time, one of the most powerful examples of having trust, belief, and reliance upon Allah:

No, indeed, my Lord is with me and He will guide.

So why do I mention Al-Muharram and think of Musa alayhi salam? Because of Ashura — the tenth day of this particular month — which the Prophet ﷺ of course recommended for us to fast. But just touching on the story of Musa alayhi salam: how Allah helped and aided him — one of the greatest messengers on the path of Allah. And how likewise, Allah can help you and can aid you on the path that you are upon.

The help of Allah isn't restricted to the prophets and messengers. The help of Allah is for all of His ibad, for all of the servants — without restriction. We just need to ask Allah to help us, to aid us. And when we say:

For you to understand what that really means — that You alone we worship and You alone we seek for aid — for you to really understand this, something you say 17 times a day: this is you asking Allah for help. We ask Allah to make us from those people.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ، فَمَنْ كَانَ يُذْنِبُ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوا، إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.

Second Khutbah — Hastening Towards Forgiveness and the Virtues of Fasting Ashura

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ.

All praise belongs to Allah, and may the peace and blessings be upon his final messenger Muhammad ﷺ. A couple of verses where Allah reminds the believers not to just sit there and relax but to go forth and search for the reward of Allah:

And be quick and hasten to the forgiveness of your Lord.

Compete in goodness. These are just a couple of verses where Allah reminds us that when an opportunity comes knocking and comes past, the Muslim is there to take advantage of that.

The Best Fast After Ramadan

So we are in the month of Al-Muharram, in which the Prophet ﷺ says this is the month of Allah, Muharram — which shows and tells us that it has some significance. Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1163)

The best fasting after the month of Ramadan is the fast done in the month of Al-Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligations is the prayer in the night. So this is the month that we should endeavor to fast as much as we can — it's the best fast after the month of Ramadan, especially the 10th.

The Day of Ashura — Its Origin and Significance

Now the 10th of Muharram — Ashura — is a well-known date for us all, or at least it should be. It is a day that the Quraysh, before the Prophet ﷺ was designated to receive the wahi, used to fast. The Prophet ﷺ used to fast Ashura in the times of Al-Jahiliyyah, and then when the Prophet ﷺ received the revelation, it is said that he stopped doing that — to not follow the ways of the people of Al-Jahiliyyah — even though it had an origin, which was later known to us that this was the day in which Allah saved Musa alayhi salam from Fir'aun.

But fasting this day is not only a reminder for us as believers about the significance and importance of Musa alayhi salam and his victory — by Allah's permission — over Fir'aun. It also shows that شَرْعُ مَا قَبْلَنَا — the shari'ah of that which came before us — also has a place within Islam. Just as some of the rites of Al-Hajj existed in the times of the people of Al-Jahiliyyah — they knew tawaf and they used to do it, of course incorrectly. So some of the rites of the previous prophets existed amongst the people, although their understanding of why they were doing it had been lost.

So the Prophet ﷺ, when he arrived in Al-Madinah, he found that some of the People of the Book were fasting on this day. So the Prophet ﷺ asked: why are some of the People of the Book fasting on this day of Ashura, the 10th of Muharram? It was said to him ﷺ that they do this because this is the day that Allah saved Musa from Fir'aun. So because of that, they fast that day. So he ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2004; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1130)

I have more right to my brother Musa than those. So the Prophet ﷺ said we will fast this day and commanded the people to fast that day as well. At the beginning, it was an obligation to fast Ashura.

How to Fast Ashura

And then later on, the Prophet ﷺ said: if I reach the next year, I will also fast the 9th. So it is good practice for us to fast the 9th and the 10th of Al-Muharram — next Wednesday and next Thursday, the 9th and 10th. If you missed the 9th, then you can fast the 10th and the 11th — Thursday and Friday. And if you want, he mentions in Zad al-Ma'ad that أَكْمَلُ — the best way — is to fast the 9th, 10th, and 11th. If you just fast the 10th, it is also permitted.

But don't forget that the Prophet ﷺ reminded us that fasting Ashura, the 10th, is a kaffarah for our sins — السَّنَةَ الْمَاضِيَةَ — an expiation for our sins for the previous year. Just a month ago we fasted Arafah and we had — inshallah — an expiation of our sins for the previous and the next year. رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةٌ — the mercy of Allah is so expansive and wide. He gives us another opportunity to fast the 10th, so that your previous year's sins — if you had some shortcomings in those days — this is also going to be forgiven. So do not miss this opportunity, bi idhnillah.

We ask Allah to allow us to be from those who uphold the sunnah of Rasul Allah ﷺ. Not forgetting that Allah has commanded us to send salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ.

Du'a

Wa aqeem al-salah.