Following the Way of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Khutbah al-Ula — Opening Sermon

(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 2042)

Indeed all praise and thanks is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. We praise Him, we thank Him. Whomsoever Allah guides there is none to mislead, and whoever Allah leads astray there is none to guide. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah alone, and that Muhammad ﷺ is his final messenger.

The Obligation of Following the Prophet ﷺ

My dear brothers and sisters, as a Muslim, we find ourselves — or at least we should — in a situation where we feel that we are in dire need of knowing how to understand the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. We are all aware of the famous ayah — in fact, Ibn Kathir رحمه الله تعالى says that this is the asl, this is the foundation for the Muslim in following the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

That you have in the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a most beautiful example. Especially in a time now where there are so many different ideas, so many different methodologies that you and I are exposed to — and especially our youth and our children — where ideas seem to prevail over others: the way that you think, the way that you understand the world, the way that you understand religion, or how influential your deen should be in the decisions that you are making on a daily basis.

Maybe there is a gap between us and the next generation that comes after us. Maybe we assume that our understanding is their understanding, and that we take it for granted that they will follow the way, or even get better than we are upon now. But this is a great danger, because it could be the case that maybe your son and your daughter, whoever they may be from your close relatives, are actually having a great test but they don't show that to you. So in your home they pray with you, they listen to you — but then they have a completely different life outside that you are completely oblivious to.

So how important it is for us — as fathers, as mothers, as those who have responsibility over the youth — to have a connection with the next generation, to then impart this beneficial knowledge, this sound knowledge, for them to be convinced, just as you are convinced, that Islam is a superior way to live.

What Does Following the Sunnah Actually Mean?

The Prophet ﷺ is an example for us all, and part of our shahada is the second part:

That I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. So what does that actually mean and how does that manifest itself in our lives? The answer might be quite simply: well, to follow his sunnah — which is the correct answer. But then again, that's very general. What does it mean to follow the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ?

Is it about the external — how you look? Well, for many of us, dressing like the Prophet ﷺ in Arabian clothing, if you like, or the clothing that was worn at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, is not something applicable for me because of the place I work or the place that I study. So how is it that externally I'm supposed to display the sunnah and that I'm a follower of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?

There is flexibility, no doubt, in these issues. But the core of this — the center part of this, a step before that if you like — is the state of the heart of that individual in wanting to follow that sunnah and understanding how that actually works. So you may find shallow answers to what it means to follow the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. So let me give you a couple of examples, as the ulema have mentioned, of what it means to internalize in following the Messenger ﷺ.

Emulating the Prophet ﷺ in Worship

First of all, the Prophets were the best of worshippers upon earth. The Prophets were the very best people at worshipping Allah. That ibadah, whether it came in the form of salah or fasting or pilgrimage or whatever righteous deeds that we understand to be — they were the very best of people concerning that. And this is one aspect of following the way of the Prophet ﷺ: emulating him in his ibadah, how the Prophet ﷺ worshipped Allah. The salah itself —

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 631)

Pray as you have seen me praying. And how many other acts of ibadah that we offer — is that in line with the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ? Not only externally but internally: that when you call upon Allah, what is the state of your heart?

Do you have that fine balance between الخَوْفُ وَالرَّجَاء — between hope and fear? Or is it that you are worshipping Allah just out of fear and you have lost hope? Or that you have all hope in Allah, you don't care about your sins, you have no fear of Allah, and you have fallen to another extreme? So when you call upon Allah, you should have this fine balance — this is the way of the Prophets — and this is how Allah reminds us, how He tells us in the Quran, how to worship Him:

That we have hope in His mercy, and that we have fear of His punishment. So we try to emulate the worship of the Prophet ﷺ — and again, this is just an idea; we don't have the time here to go into great depth — but for you to think: following the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ means to emulate him in what and how to worship Allah.

Remembering Allah in All Situations

Also, you find how the Prophets remember Allah on all occasions — which, of course, is part of how they worship Allah — but I'm talking about the day-to-day: when you're outside of your salah, in times when you face a trial or a test or calamity, or even when you receive a blessing. When we're talking about a trial or a test, do not think that it is only in the form of a calamity or a loss — because a trial to any one of us could be a blessing that Allah gives to you, and whether you respond in a grateful and thankful fashion. And if you are ungrateful with regards to that blessing, then you have failed that test and it could be a source of punishment because of the lack of gratefulness you have towards Allah.

So I'm talking about the things that we do on a daily basis: how the Prophet ﷺ would deal with the rich and the poor — and what do you know about that? How the Prophet ﷺ would deal with those who had questions, that each person had a particular need and he ﷺ would answer their need in a way that was tailored for them — how much do we know about that?

Once we start to open these things up and truly understand what it means to follow the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, we may then realize: how little do I know about how to actually implement and live by the way of the Prophet ﷺ. May Allah guide us to follow the true sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Khutbah al-Thaniya — Second Sermon

Knowledge, Conviction, and the Next Generation

My dear brothers and sisters, after just touching on a few issues like this, I want to now link what I've said about you being convinced — not just because you are Muslims, but you are totally convinced — and then wanting to propagate that and pass it on to the next generation, so that your children are essentially guided by Allah and you fulfill your responsibility towards your children.

Another important aspect is to gain beneficial knowledge. And this beneficial knowledge is information taken from the Quran and sunnah which you have the goal to implement, and that you ask Allah to increase you:

Allah taught the Prophet ﷺ this supplication, this du'a, that we should also be making: "Oh my Lord, increase me in knowledge." So the Muslim is never satisfied with the level of knowledge that they have, but they are constantly striving, struggling, pushing to know authentic knowledge so that they can implement that — الْعِلْمُ وَالْعَمَلُ — that they have the knowledge and then they have the implementation of that knowledge.

And this, essentially, brothers and sisters — after you making du'a every day in your salah to guide you to the straight path — you must have in line with that some push from yourselves to ask Allah to keep you on the firm path, the straight path. And that can only be with authentic knowledge in following the way of the Prophet ﷺ.

Ibn al-Qayyim on Success and Happiness

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله تعالى says something very profound concerning being guided and understanding the purpose of your life:

That there is no way or path to happiness and success — not in this life nor in the Hereafter — except by the hands of the Messengers, i.e. that you follow them. And that there is no way that you can possibly understand what is good and what is bad in detail, except that you have taken it from them. And that you cannot attain the pleasure of Allah, that Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا is happy with you, except that you follow their path — that goodness in actions and statements and your manners is taken from their guidance. Through their guidance, and by their guidance, you will be guided by Allah. And this is the mizan — this is the scale — by which we will judge our existence and how successful that person is in how much they are following the Prophets عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ and how they turned to Allah.

A Reflection: Surah al-Anbiya'

Let me just finish by encouraging you to go away and read through Surah al-Anbiya' — the Prophets — and look at and remind yourselves how Allah guided the Prophets to being the very best of people: from the story of Zakariya عليه السلام, and Yunus, and Ayyub — how they called upon Allah in very difficult times. Read from verse 50 onwards, very carefully, brothers and sisters, to see how the best of people called upon Allah and what made them the most successful people upon earth.

Closing Du'a