Jumu'ah Khutbah - Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

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

أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَخَيْرَ الْهُدَى هُدَى مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

Indeed, all praise and thanks is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam is his final messenger.

The Quran: A Book of Guidance and Authority

My dear brothers and sisters, on these blessed days of Ramadan, I ask Allah that He accepts all of our righteous deeds and that He guides us to the straight path. Ameen.

One way of looking at the book of Allah — of course, we know that it is a book of guidance, it is a guidance to mankind, to tell us, to teach us how to live, how to deal with one another. But the most important matter is for us to recognize who our Lord is, how to worship Him, and what we are supposed to do to fulfill our responsibilities as servants to our Lord.

So Allah explains to us that this book was revealed to us, and that over all previous scripture it is muhaimin 'alayh — that it has authority, a supreme authority over all previous scripture. We also know that Allah informed us that all previous scripture has been tampered with, has been changed, has been added to, has been taken away from, and is no longer in the original form that Allah sent it to great messengers like Musa alayhi salam — the Torah — or Isa alayhi salam — the Injil. So alhamdulillah, we have the haq, we have the truth, in the Quran.

The True Mission of Isa alayhi salam

I want you to think, metaphorically, about the time in which the Quran was revealed. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was in Arabia, and perhaps the true powerhouse at that particular time was the Roman Empire — both the western and the eastern empire. These great power nations at the time had authority over the majority of the earth, and the majority of those were the Nasara. The Nasara were those who believed that Allah had taken a son, and that the son was sacrificed for the original sin that mankind was supposedly carrying — that after Adam alayhi salam had eaten from the tree, all of mankind was born into sin, and for that sin to be removed they had to believe that Allah had taken a son and that the son was sacrificed so that the sins could be removed.

Islam came to remove this falsehood. Islam came to clarify the true mission of Isa alayhi salam — that yes, indeed he was Al-Masih, he was the Messiah, but he was not the son of Allah. Rather, he was Isa ibn Maryam, that he was the son of Maryam alayhi salam. And this is a clear message in the Quran, and it is part of our fundamental beliefs.

This has a knock-on effect on so many things. Having a true understanding of the nature of Isa alayhi salam, his mission, what he stood for, what he taught — it is completely in line with all the other prophets that preceded him, alayhim salatu was salam. It wasn't a new mission.

And Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam came to fulfill the promise that Isa alayhi salam was given — to tell the people that there would be a prophet:

"…and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me whose name is Ahmad" — which is one of the names of our beloved Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

And that Isa alayhi salam was not crucified and he did not die — which is a clear refutation of the false beliefs that were held at that time, and persist until this day. This means that the Muslim is the only true follower of Isa alayhi salatu was salam.

The Unchanging Message of All Prophets

His teachings, as mentioned throughout the whole Quran — when Allah reminds us about Nuh alayhi salam, reminds us about Hud and Salih and Lut — all of these great prophets, alayhim salatu was salam, their simple message to all of their people was:

"O my people, worship your Lord who is One. You have no other lord, no other deity, no other one to worship except Him." And this message, from the time of Adam alayhi salam to the time of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was the same message and never changed.

But imagine the challenge — imagine the challenge that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had at his time — to change the narrative, to correct the false beliefs into true teachings regarding Isa alayhi salam. Moreover regarding Maryam alayhi salam — that she was not the mother of God, but she was a servant of Allah.

Isa and Maryam in the Quran

And how many times Isa alayhi salam and his mother are mentioned in the Quran — there is no other scripture that exists on earth that mentions, reveals, and goes into such detail about Isa alayhi salam and his mother alayhi salam like the book of Allah, like the Quran. Allah gives us the most beautiful examples, tells us the story in the most beautiful and most eloquent way — reading the verses in Surah Ali Imran, in Surah Al-Ma'idah, in Surah Maryam itself — a whole chapter dedicated to the mother of Jesus, to the mother of Isa alayhi salam.

Allah revealed to us the book, the Quran, which is a clarification for absolutely everything. But it is then upon us to go back, to understand the detailed stories that were given to us, and for us to relay these truths to our children so that our children do not become confused regarding the status of Isa alayhi salam.

And Allah reminds us that this is the story, the truth concerning Jesus, the son of Mary. This is a statement of truth, yet many of them have conjecture and doubt about it. But Allah makes it very clear concerning the story of Al-Masih:

They did not kill him and they did not crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them. This is what they had thought that they had done. And when the true teachings came to them, it was a test for them — to follow the truth, or to follow their own desires.

So we ask Allah to guide us to the truth, and to purify and help purify our intentions, and when we hear the truth, to follow the truth.

I say this and ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you, so ask forgiveness from Him — He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Part of the Khutbah

All praise belongs to Allah, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon his final messenger, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and his family.

Isa alayhi salam and the End of Days

My brothers and sisters, just touching on the topic of Isa alayhi salam — and as I said, this has an impact on so many affairs and matters of our belief, even concerning the end of days. We know that Isa alayhi salam will return. And when he returns, as is mentioned in the sound hadith, he will break the cross, he will slaughter the pig, and he will raise the payment of the jizyah.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2222; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 155)

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam prophesied that Isa alayhi salam will return with these rulings, restore justice to earth, and that he will kill the Dajjal — who will have run rampant on earth, causing confusion wherever he went. And indeed, even his message will cause confusion amongst non-Muslims and Muslims alike. So there is much work to do for Isa alayhi salam when he returns.

And as is mentioned by the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he will follow the Quran, he will follow the message of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So having the correct belief in these fundamental issues of our faith is of the utmost importance, my dear brothers and sisters.

The Second Jumu'ah of Ramadan — Seize the Remaining Mercy

Now, in the last few moments that I have with you in the khutbah, I think it is very important — and I say at least — that we are in a very special time. It is the second Jumu'ah in this blessed month of Ramadan. And before we know it, the month will be over, and perhaps we will have some regrets. Surely we will all have some form of regret that we could have done more. But that time hasn't occurred yet — that hasn't happened yet. And it is important for us to focus on what is left of the month.

Even now, if you think about the mercy of Allah that extends over everything:

"My mercy encompasses all things."

Three Doors of Forgiveness in Ramadan

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 38; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 760)

Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan — 30 days, 29 days, whatever you are supposed to fast — perhaps you fell short. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 37; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 759)

Whoever stood in prayer in Ramadan — and it is a level of greater ease for you to achieve, with all of your previous sins being forgiven. But perhaps you fell short in that as well. Then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said in another sound hadith:

So maybe you fell short in your fasting, you fell short in your qiyam — but the third hadith: whoever stood in prayer on Laylat al-Qadr with iman, seeking Allah's reward, all of your previous sins are forgiven. This is the mercy of Allah. And every single day, brothers and sisters, search for, look for, and ask Allah for His mercy.

"And your Lord has announced: Call upon Me, and I will answer you."

Closing Du'as

O Allah, honour Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, honour Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, accept from us, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, we ask You for Jannah and whatever of speech and action draws us close to it. O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the Fire and whatever of speech and action draws us close to it.

وَقُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمْكُمُ اللَّهُ

Rise now to your prayer — may Allah have mercy upon you.