A Life of Service - Shaykh Yahya Ibrahim

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

Always and forever we begin with the praise of Allah and we send our prayers of peace upon our Nabi Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. We testify with firmness and conviction that there is none that is worthy of worship but Allah azza wa jal, and that our Nabi Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is His worshiping slave and His final messenger.

I remind myself and you of taqwa Allah — the awareness and the consciousness of Allah azza wa jal — that it is to love Allah and to fear Him and to hope in His mercy in equal measure, in whatever may befall us, in whichever circumstance we find ourselves in. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us from those who see the truth for what it is and bend and follow towards it, that we become of the ummah of those who hear and immediately obey. And we pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows us to have the insight and sight of seeing what is false for what it truly is, so that we can make the consistent choice in our life to be distant from it, with the tawfiq of Allah azza wa jal.

It is an honor and a privilege to stand amongst my brothers and my sisters here today in the blessed Masjid of Green Lane in the city of Birmingham. And I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sends His light into my heart and yours, into my home and yours, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — if He has restrained your rizq in the heavens — that it showers down upon you, and if it is beneath your feet and you are unable to witness it, that it is extracted without your effort. That Allah gives you an opening from every hardship, and Allah seals upon you and I the doors that lead us off His path. And I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gathers us in the shafa'a of our Nabi Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in Jannat al-Khuld.

The Hadith of the Bedouin Young Man

It has been narrated — and that word means that there is a weakness in the chain of narration according to some ulama — this is the narration of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb from his father from his grandfather 'Abdullah the son of 'Amr ibn al-'As: that a man, a Bedouin young man, came and complained to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, my father has with aggression taken of my wealth without my permission and prior consent."

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ simply responded — and as I said, some of the ulama claim that there are issues with its sanad, although it is narrated by Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud and others. This statement, which is found in our books of shari'a and our books of fiqh, has rules built upon it because the premise is correct even if the narration has weakness in it:

"You and the wealth you possess belong to your father." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 6902; Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 3530)

Now I want you to understand this statement. There are rules and regulations of where we earn, where we spend, who we give, who we restrain, who we are responsible for. And I want you to understand that this statement is not a green light from the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that a father can take from his son without acknowledgement, condition, or consent. But here the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ wants you and I to learn a simple, profound, lifelong, socially constructed lesson that is meant to cure the ailing hearts.

And that lesson is: you are responsible for others in life. As a man, you can never look upon the world you interact with with a selfish, inward heart. You and what you possess were not meant to belong, and be withheld, and saved, and committed, and restrained, just for me.

You Cannot Withhold From Those You Are Responsible For

You cannot pay zakah to your father. There is no sadaqah upon your mother. You cannot restrain your infaq from your wife and your children. Your wife can give you zakah, but it is not transferable in the other sense. أَنْتَ — you — and everything you possess is not just for you.

We live in an age today of "me, myself, and I alone." The mindset of Madinah — Madinatu'n-Nabiy صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — where the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would say: a house that has food in it tonight and whose neighbor goes to bed hungry is a house that baraka has been restrained from — a curse is upon it.

"He has not believed in me who goes to bed satiated while his neighbor beside him is hungry and he knows of it." (Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith 2166; al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-Kabir)

A woman who is blessed by Allah — in another narration of the Prophet — is the one who adds more water to soup so that her neighbor can have something to eat. I want you to understand that hadith. Soup is not like the soup, mashAllah, that you and I have today. Soup at the time of the Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was even then a luxury. She says that there would be jumu'a after jumu'a, and times — months — where a flame would not be kindled in the house of the Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to cook. They did not even have soup. They had al-aswadan — the two dark things: muddy water and dates.

Abdullah — You Are Meant to Live a Life of Service

Abdullah, you are meant to live a life of service. Look at the words that Allah chooses for you. I am speaking to the brothers today, because the purpose of the khutbah is for those upon whom it is wajib to be here — our sisters attending is incidental. My discussion is with you, Abdullah.

Look at the words Allah uses to describe you in the Quran. The wife of our Nabi Ibrahim عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام — when the angels in the form of men come and speak to her — she referred to him using the word ba'l. The word ba'l — it means the waterfall of my nourishment, the spring of my success and strength, the one upon whom I rely in the most absolute sense.

The Meaning of Birr al-Walidayn

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala restrains your duty as it relates to birr al-walidayn in two particular, interesting ways. We always speak about birr al-walidayn. The concept of birr — the word birr in the linguistic sense means to find something occurring that is not natural to occur. Most human beings do not have a natural inclination to be good to their parents — that is why Allah reminds us. It is unnatural. It is not just simply actions. It is that you believe — you believe that what I give, Allah is the one who provided.

One of the trustees of our Turkish masjid back home in my city in Perth — may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala send light upon his grave — he passed away. He was a man who used to love to dress sharply. He used to love to polish his shoes, to organize them, to take ihsan in his physique and his attire. When he passed away, we went to his home — so many people that we were sitting in the streets and in the garage. As I was sitting in the garage and the microphone was handed to me, across from me there was his shoe rack. He had a bookcase of shoes — different colors on different shelves: the black, and then the brown, and then the yellows and the blues. He had his cleaning kit that he would use for them.

As I sat there, I remembered the hadith of the Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

"Three things follow the deceased, two of them return and one remains with him: his family, his wealth, and his deeds follow him; his family and wealth return, and his deeds remain with him." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6514; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2960)

As I sat there and looked at those shoes, the thought that came to me was: who would wear them today? Who owned them in reality? What do you actually own that you are so holding on to, fighting over, committed to, restraining, unwilling to share and give?

I commented to the brothers as we were sitting upstairs. One of the brothers who gave the announcement began his sadaqah drive with the hadith. He said: "Save yourself from hellfire with what — even a date." SubhanAllah. The brother was very direct. What do you possess, and who is it for?

The Father's Financial Responsibility in the Quran

Allah tells us in the Quran the first concept: your mother carried you and gave birth to you, so when Allah speaks about her — He speaks of your attention, your visitation, your affection, your phone calls, your love, your smile, your adoration for your mother. But when Allah speaks about birr as it relates to the father, Allah uses a different word — not walidayn, but abbawayn — and when Allah speaks of him, it is with financial implications.

The Rajul — A True Man of Responsibility

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that nearing the end of time, one man — a true man — a real rajul. Because there is a difference between rajul and dhakar — a man and a male. Even now, society has a problem with the very concept of male. A rajul is the one who is committed to the context of the word of Allah, to the establishment of the process and the sunnah of the Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. They have these shama'il and qualities — truthful to their families, truthful in their purpose, in their driven experience of life.

Men — true men — are not distracted by the pursuit of their tijara and labor and earning. They are standing at attention in the fulfillment of the needs of the nisa'. My mother — I want you, my dear brother, as you reach an age where you have begun to understand and you are capable of standing on your two feet as an adult man —

My son — may Allah give him good life and a long life — is 14 years old. He is coming to the point in his life where, under the laws of our deen, I am no longer responsible for his maintenance. If I do it, it is out of generosity. Once you reach 16, 17, 18 years old — as a man in our deen — your father, your mother, your brothers, your aunts, your uncles are not responsible for feeding you, clothing you, sheltering you.

That is different for our women. My eldest — my daughter — from the moment she is born, may Allah give her a long life, until the time she returns to Allah, she will be in my custody, or in the custody — inshAllah — of a righteous man as her husband. If there is reason for her to return, she will come to me or her uncle or her brother or her grandfather. There is somebody who is there striving to give, so that she does not need to maintain herself.

You are meant to swim and not sink when there are fifty on your shoulder. SubhanAllah. The Prophet said near the end of time that for every fifty women there would be one man standing at attention. Today we forget the essence of the sunnah of the Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ through distraction.

Tough Times Build Tough Men

Prepare yourself, my dear brother, because the times that come are usually tougher than the times that were lived. Usually, when you look through the history of humanity: tough times make tough men, tough men provide for a generation of men who become soft, soft men cause turmoil in society because they are not rigid and able to withstand and show patience and sabr — and those tough times will return back to building, inshAllah, tough men.

We live in that dip in the cycle where we have become weak. Our minds are weak, our hearts are weak, our pursuit of striving for a life of service to others is weak. Our consumption is great and our charities are limited.

The Men of the Houses of Allah

I close the first khutbah with the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that the men you want to find — sisters, if you are listening, the men you want to find — are those who are regular and habitual in the houses of Allah, not merely sitting in them, but seeking to purify themselves.

They recognize there are things missing. If you are sitting with me, my dear brother, today and there is education in your life that you did not complete — you are a young man, you did not finish your university — purify, erase, go back. Night school, online, day school, part-time, full-time. If there is a gap in your employment history, in your experience, fill it. Put attention to it. Gather upon its strength so that Allah may use you to fill the gaps and needs of others.

May Allah make us as the Prophet said — the best of you in the sight of God and the best of you in the hearts of men — those who are most benefiting and supportive of others.

"The best of people are those most beneficial to people." (al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani, Hadith 5787; al-Silsilah al-Sahihah of al-Albani, Hadith 906)

Du'a — First Khutbah Closing

In conclusion, my dear brothers, I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bring relief to those who are outside in the sun — and I shorten on account of them, I just noticed them, SubhanAllah. I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala relieves us from the torment and the heat of Jahannam.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala fill your homes and your hearts with the desire to please Him before others. May Allah make our love for Allah greater than the love of the dunya. May Allah make our love and association to the sunnah more than what we show in life, but rooted in our heart. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make our privacy better than our public life. May Allah forgive us what He knows of us that others are unaware of. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala support you and your masjid and your community and assist you to uplift the community here in Birmingham and the Muslim ummah. Allahumma Ameen.

Second Khutbah — Rabb Allah: Declaring Allah as Your Lord

I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala leads our hearts to that which is pleasing to Him and prevents us from all the pathways that lead to the Shaytan.

Our Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says — when he is asked a simple question: "Tell me something about Islam that I need not ask anyone after you, O Messenger of Allah" — he says صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

"Say: I believe in Allah, then be steadfast." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 38)

Say proudly: رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ — the one who is my Lord is Allah. The Rabb of Allah — the detail being that He becomes your Master. We begin Surat al-Fatihah where we ask: "O Allah, guide us to the straight path." By the end of the Quran, the straight path has become clear. In the first three verses of that surah you have made Allah the Lord of you as a human being — He is the King of my life, the Lawgiver in my life, the Hakam in my life, the Judge in my life, the one I fear in my life, the only one to whom I give deference and love and fear and hope out of worship.

I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows us to say رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ — our Lord is Allah — with our tongue, but that it shows in our actions, in our commitment, in our fearlessness: that we do not fear poverty, that we do not fear ignorance, that we do not fear that in our life we will be led astray — as long as we hold on to each other in the pursuit of truth.

The Sirat — The Straight Path

Then live upon that straight path. That is يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ. The word as-Sirat in the Arabic language means so many things. It means wide, a road — as-Sirat is something wide. It has room for you. Nobody is going to push you off the Sirat — it is you who walks off it. It is you who takes that right or left turn. Nobody is there to prevent you except the Shaytan, whom Allah gave you the tools to overcome.

The Sirat is exclusive — nobody knows it except the one who seeks it. There are so many people who want an upright life but are looking for solutions in foreign places that have nothing to do with the sunnah and the deen of our Nabi Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

The Sirat is exclusive to our Nabi and that deen and Islam. Take pride in your religion. Take pride in your Nabi.

The Sirat is the shortest between A and B — no right turns and meanderings and looping back around and getting lost. It cuts through. The Sirat is only accessed with the permission of the one who clears the way for you: Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and the command and the sunnah of the Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

I pray that Allah leads you and I to Sirat al-Mustaqeem and uprights us in our existence. Allahumma Ameen.

Closing Du'as

I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala places baraka in the projects of Masjid Green Lane here in Birmingham — that Allah fulfills for them the pursuit of continuing and expanding and leading, not just in structure but in the human resources they develop. Allahumma Ameen.

I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows your sadaqa to reach the place you intend, and that Allah assists those who collect our zakah to fulfill the amanah.

I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protects our women and our daughters and our sisters and our mothers and wives from the vulgarity that is targeting them. Allahumma Ameen.

I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes our hearts as men steadfast in love and compassion for those who brought us into this world, and for whom we are accountable in their support.

I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uprights the ummah of our Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, that Allah returns us to His way so that we can be returned to the glory of the past, and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgives you and I of all mistakes and sins. Allahumma Ameen.