Remaining Steadfast in Worship - Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Khutbah: Remaining Steadfast in Worship

By Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Opening — Khutbat al-Ḥājah

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

Al-Istiqāmah — Remaining Steadfast

I want to talk about a topic today which I'm sure you have all heard and know about to some extent. And that is al-thabātu 'alā al-dīn — to remain steadfast, to remain firm in your traversing upon a path, worshipping Allah. This is something we are asking Allah every day for — to remain upon as-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm.

Not to be affected by fitan, or shahawāt, or shubuhāt — doubts and desires and confusion. You put those to one side so the path remains clear for you upon worshipping Allah. You are not diverted left or right.

It is something, as you know, that Allah commands us with. It is something that Allah commanded our Nabi Muhammad ﷺ — that, O Muhammad, remain firm and straight as you were commanded. The reward for remaining firm and upright is al-qawl al-thābit — that steadfast word — in this life and also in the ākhirah.

It is something that the Prophet ﷺ told us about in the authentic Sunnah, in the hadith of al-'Irbāḍ ibn Sāriyah رضي الله عنه — that if fitan, things happen to you which cause confusion, how do you remain firm? How do you remain upon that straight path, to follow the way of the Prophet ﷺ?

So the topic of al-istiqāmah is something we have heard before and we need to be reminded about it. But there are some ways, some things which are advised for us to do practically — because this is not 'ilm al-naẓarī, it is not a theory. It is something that we practically do so that we can remain upon this blessed and correct path.

Practical Ways to Achieve Steadfastness

First and foremost: adherence. For you to hold on to the dīn of Allah. For you to refer back to the sources of al-waḥy, of revelation — both al-Kitāb and Sunnah. For you to understand them, and whatever you learn, you implement it. This is one of the ways that you can attain or remain upon a straight path.

Likewise, the remembrance of Allah. How many verses there are where we are told to remember Allah, the virtues of remembering Allah.

As Allah has told us: "Remember Me and I will remember you."

In the hadith of Ibn 'Abbās رضي الله عنهما, the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you." (Jāmi' al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2516)

And if Allah remembers you and I, then you will be within His protection and His guidance, inshā'Allāh. So these are practical steps that are given to us so we can remain upon this straight path, inshā'Allāh. It is a blessed path. It is the correct path. It is the path of guidance as opposed to a path of ḍalālah.

The Challenges Along the Path

This being as it is, it doesn't mean that there won't be any challenges. It doesn't mean that there won't be things that you will face that you need to make decisions upon. Absolutely there will. And shayṭān is ḥarīṣ — shayṭān will do his best to push you in one way or the other.

Like what? It may be that what you are doing now is correct, but maybe shayṭān pushes you to be negligent — things aren't so important, maybe you begin to misunderstand what you should be prioritizing. So you become heedless. Or for example, you become extreme in a matter.

And of course there are evidences for all of these. One of them — when there were three individuals from the companions of the Messenger ﷺ and they were discussing amongst themselves:

"Where are we in comparison to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?" So they discussed amongst themselves what they should do or what they could possibly do to improve their situation. One said he would not marry in his life. Another said he would stand every night in prayer. Another said he was going to fast every day. This of course was an extreme behavior.

And when this reached the Prophet ﷺ, he said to them:

"Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me." (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 5063; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 1401)

This was an extreme behavior — although only apparent. It is ibādah, it is worship. But this was seen as an extreme way of implementing. So shayṭān will try to push you one way or the other — to become heedless or to become overzealous, to become extreme in a matter. And this is something shayṭān will always try to push you upon.

And that's what it means to remain upon the straight path — it means to be mu'tadil, it means to be not negligent, not extreme, but to be upon that middle, straight path. And this is something we constantly ask Allah for, and we ask Allah to make us from them.

Second Part of the Khutbah

I mentioned al-istiqāmah because of course we can talk about it in different lights, from different perspectives. So knowing its importance, knowing how to achieve the path of remaining firm and steadfast — but I also wanted to mention its real-life impact on you and I, what it means in our daily lives as Muslims.

When you wake up tomorrow morning for Ṣalāt al-Fajr, the responsibilities you have towards your Lord, towards your family, towards your community, towards your society — wherever that is.

Yes, the du'ā' and something that you are constantly saying — but how does that manifest? How does that show in your life as something real to you, something practical for you?

The Lesson of al-Ḥudaybiyyah

During the treaty of al-Ḥudaybiyyah, the Prophet ﷺ had a dream. I'm sure if you've read the sīrah of the Prophet ﷺ, you know the story. The Prophet ﷺ had a dream of performing Umrah.

They had been persecuted in Mecca for 13 years. They had made the hijrah and were in Medina for a number of years — six, seven years. No one had been able to perform Umrah, to see the Ka'bah. Very difficult situation. Battles, persecution, oppression — all types of things were happening to the Muslims.

And so the Prophet ﷺ had this dream of performing Umrah. A number of Muslims gathered together — some 1,300 of them رضي الله عنهم — and the Prophet ﷺ made their way to Mecca. Then they were stopped by the Mushrikūn of the Quraysh — you are not allowed to enter to perform your Umrah. Not allowed.

So the Prophet ﷺ and the companions set up camp and they waited. The Mushrikūn of the Quraysh sent emissaries — people to discuss, to talk the Muslims out of what their intention was and to send them back. One of these people was 'Urwah ibn Mas'ūd al-Thaqafī — a prominent individual from the Mushrikūn of the Quraysh at that time. He was sent to speak to the Prophet ﷺ, to sow the seeds of dissension, to split up the tribes and the ranks of the Muslims, and ultimately to turn them away.

I want to mention this story because I think it is a reflection, something we can ponder about — the importance of remaining firm upon the dīn and its impact on others. Of course, you are the first to benefit from remaining firm upon the dīn of Allah — the tawfīq, the success that Allah gives to you in your daily life. But how does that also impact others?

So 'Urwah had this conversation with the Prophet ﷺ and the companions, and ultimately was unsuccessful, of course. And so 'Urwah goes back to the Mushrikūn of the Quraysh. And what does he say to them? He makes it very clear. He says: I have been to see the kings of the Persians, of the Romans, of al-Najāshī of al-Ḥabasha. I have been to them all. I have seen it all. And he had traveled extensively.

"I have never seen a people who love their leader, who protect their leader, like these people." Between the lines you can say: these are a steadfast people. These are firm people. There is no way you are able to turn these people away.

He further goes on to explain that when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ makes wuḍū', they fight over the droplets that fall from his hands to wipe themselves with. This is how they are firm. This is how they are steadfast.

How do you think the Quraysh felt when they saw such a people — so firm, so steadfast, impossible to shake? No doubt they felt disheartened. No doubt they felt at a loss. "We have done everything. We have given everything we possibly can to break these people. And we cannot do it."

Nobody was getting involved. They sought the help of the other tribes — even at the Battle of Aḥzāb, Banū Ghaṭafān and all these other tribes who weren't originally with them, they all helped to attack and harm the Muslims in Medina. And they were still unable to do anything. They could not harm or shake these steadfast people.

Steadfastness and Its Impact on the Enemy

What do you think it does to the enemy when they see people who are upon the Ḥaqq, remaining steadfast, remaining firm, who are not shaken? This is something that Allah reminds us of. That whenever anything may happen to you on the apparent — you may even see losses, as during the Battle of Uḥud for example — Allah reminded us:

"And do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are indeed believers." Even though the Muslims suffered some loss at the Battle of Uḥud.

The Real-Life Impact of Steadfastness — Gaza

Was this steadfastness and remaining firm something that we read only in the sīrah or in the history books? No, it is not. It is something that, no doubt, one day will itself be written in the history books when we are long gone.

From 2023 to 2025, the intense war in Gaza — there was a people who were given, as it were, a free shot. "Do whatever you like to a people for two years. Whatever armory, whatever weaponry you have, you can use it. No one will say anything to you." For two years, everything they possibly had in their armory was given — only for it to end after two years. But of course, to say only two years would be a big mistake — we are talking about more than 75 years. But for the purpose of the example we are giving, of remaining firm and steadfast upon the dīn of Allah:

What does that do to a people who are fighting against them? After two years of doing what they did, there is a ceasefire. And then what happens? Moments later — no houses, no food, 85% of the land completely flattened — you see a stream of hundreds of thousands of people returning to the place that was demolished. What do you think that does to the morale of the enemy?

"I thought we would be able to finish them. We thought we were able to get rid of them, to ethnically cleanse them." A people who remain firm, a people who remain steadfast — you cannot defeat. These are a people who are on the side of Allah. And on the other side are the people on the side of shayṭān. You cannot defeat the people of Allah.

And millions of non-Muslims around the world look at the people of Gaza and they are in a state of awe — the resilience of those people. But what is that resilience? What is that thabāt that they have? You think it's just about land? You hear what they say — it's not about land. It's about the truth, it's about the Ḥaqq. It's about remaining close to Allah. They remember Allah. They have had losses, of course. But:

"You are the uppermost" — regardless of your situation. This is the athar, this is the impact — the real-life impact of a people remaining firm upon the dīn of Allah. Not compromising, not undermining their own selves, thinking that there's an easy way out. No. Turning to Allah, holding on to the rope of Allah — this is the najāt, this is salvation.

We ask Allah to bless us with such thabāt. We ask Allah to allow us to be from those who remain firm, whatever test may come our way. And remembering the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Islam is to prevail and will not be prevailed over." (Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, Hadith 3498; also narrated in Muṣannaf 'Abd al-Razzāq)

Closing — Ṣalāh upon the Prophet ﷺ and Du'ā'

Allah commands us to send salutations upon Nabī Muḥammad ﷺ when He said:

O Allah, grant honour to Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, grant honour to Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, grant victory to our brothers and sisters in Gaza and in every place, O Lord of all the worlds. O Allah, unite their ranks and bring their word together, O Ever-Living, O Self-Sustaining. O Turner of Hearts, keep our hearts firm upon Your deen. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and whatever draws us near to it in word and deed. O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the Fire and whatever draws us near to it in word and deed. Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers. O Allah, forgive us all our sins, O Lord of all the worlds. Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ — And establish the prayer.