Remaining Balanced in all Matters - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem

Remaining Balanced in All Matters

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, ask His help, and ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He leads astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And you shall not die except as Muslims.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has won a great victory.

Islam: The Middle Path

Verily, the religion with Allah is only Islam. Whoever follows any religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him. And this is the declaration of Allah in the Quran.

Why is Islam the chosen religion of Allah? Because this is the middle path, this is the balanced way. And it is the mercy of Allah upon us as Muslims that Allah allowed us to be the followers of Muhammad Rasulullah. Because the nation and the Ummah of Muhammad Rasulullah is called Ummatan Wasata — the balanced Ummah, the balanced nation.

Allah says: We made you a balanced Ummah, a balanced nation. So when it comes to the matter of religion or even worldly matters, you do not go overboard. And in order for us to have this balance in our religion as well as in worldly matters, we must follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah. Because following the Sunnah of Rasulullah is the only way you can keep balance in your religion and in your practicing — whether it is related to the Tawheed of Allah, the Aqeedah about Allah, belief in Allah, belief in the Prophet, or any actions or any acts of worship. We must have balance in everything.

The Danger of Going Overboard in Praise

When it comes to balance, as I said, we must follow the teachings and the Sunnah of Rasulullah. The problem comes when people go overboard in doing acts of worship. Yes, there is sometimes going overboard when it comes to the matter of religion, when it comes to the acts of worship. And this is what Rasulullah did not like.

And even before that, when it comes to praising the Prophet, we must stay within the boundaries of the Shariah. Who told us about the Prophet? How did we know that Muhammad Rasulullah is the best of humans? Who told us — Allah or the Prophet himself? So then, is it not wise to stay within the boundaries, within the teachings and the Sunnah of Rasulullah?

The Month of Rajab and the Night Journey

The reason I am highlighting this issue today is that we are going through the month of Rajab. And it is the month in which many Muslims believe that the night journey of Rasulullah took place. Although when we go back to the books of the seerah, we find huge dispute and ikhtilaf amongst the fuqaha, amongst the muhaddithin, amongst the historians. There are so many opinions and there is no one concrete, solid evidence or authentic hadith or authentic narration that confirms that the mi'raj and the night journey of Rasulullah definitely took place in the month of Rajab. Some scholars were of the opinion that it took place in the month of Ramadan. Other scholars had other opinions.

But when it comes to the month of Rajab, with regards to the exact date, there is no authentic narration — there is none at all. But unfortunately, people have singled out the 27th night of Rajab, and people gather together sometimes in the masajid and do so many things that are not proven from the Sunnah of Rasulullah.

And it is not only this problem. Another problem is that people go overboard when they relate the story of the night journey of Rasulullah. Some of them even go to the extent that they violate the boundaries of belief and iman — to the extent that they claim Rasulullah went above the throne of Allah. There is no evidence of that.

It is true — it is part of our iman, it is part of our belief that Allah granted this precious miracle and mu'jiza to our Nabi. And this is the only case in the whole of human history that Allah allowed our Nabi to travel from Makkah to Jerusalem and from there to the seven heavens. And it is not only an honor for our Nabi — this is the honor for the whole Ummah. But we must stay within the teachings of Rasulullah in order to praise the Prophet.

Some people go overboard and say that Rasulullah met with Allah above His throne. What is the evidence of that? There is no evidence. And if you speak to such people and say this is going overboard, they believe there is never exaggeration in praising the Prophet, and that you can say whatever you want with regards to the Prophet.

He himself said:

O my followers, O my Ummah, do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians have exaggerated in praising Isa, saying that Isa was the son of Allah.

Balance in Acts of Worship

And it is not only with regards to the praising of Rasulullah. Even when it comes to Salah, even when it comes to worshipping Allah — yes, our Nabi has encouraged us to perform as many nawafil as we can along with the obligatory five daily prayers. We should try, and Rasulullah himself had a daily routine of performing the night prayer and so many nawafil during the day. And he has encouraged us. But again, we must stay within the boundaries of the Sunnah of Rasulullah. If you go overboard, it will not be accepted.

The Story of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As

Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As — his wife complained to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah, my husband has nothing to do with ourselves, with the members of the family, the household. He said: How and why? She said: During the day, he keeps his fast — always, every single day. And when night comes, every single night, he spends the whole night performing the night prayer.

Rasulullah got upset and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1974; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1159)

Is it not true that I have been informed that you spend every single night performing the night prayer and you fast every single day? He said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah, because they are good deeds. He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1975)

You should know, Abdullah, that your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you, your family and your household have a right over you — so you must give every individual and everything that has rights over you their rights.

And then he suggested to him: O Abdullah, you should fast only three days in a whole month — the three white days, Ayyam al-Beed. He said: O Messenger of Allah, I can do more than this. He said: If you want to do more, then fast every Monday and Thursday. He said: O Messenger of Allah, I can do more than this. He said: If you want to do more, then fast one day and leave the next day — meaning, fast every other day. And he said: This is the best way of fasting and nothing can be better than that. So altogether you will be fasting 15 days and leaving the fast for the other 15. And he said: This is the fast of Dawood.

Abdullah ibn Amr accepted that. And then he told him about the recitation of the Quran. He said: O Abdullah, you should recite at night whatever is easy for you. He said: O Messenger of Allah, I can recite so many surahs and ajza. He said: No, stay within the boundaries — because your body has rights over you, your eyes have rights over you, your family have rights over you. And he suggested to him: You should not try to read the whole Quran in less than three days.

Abdullah ibn Amr accepted that. And when he reached old age, he used to regret and say: I wish I had taken the advice of the Prophet. Because now it has become very difficult for me to fast every other day and to read these many surahs and ajza of the Quran.

Balance in Giving Charity

The point here, my dear brothers in Islam, is that when it comes to the acts of worship, again, we must stay within the boundaries of the Sunnah of Rasulullah. When it comes even to charity, giving in the way of Allah — you always hear of so many rewards of giving in the way of Allah. But he said: when it comes to giving charity and spending your money, your own family and your own household are the most deserving people. You must spend on them — to the extent that he said that one single bite that a husband places in the mouth of his wife is counted as sadaqa for him as well.

May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to follow the footsteps and the Sunnah of our beloved Nabi, because this is the balanced way. And Allah blessed us to be part of the balanced nation. May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to understand our religion and to follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah.

Second Khutbah

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

In every single rak'ah of our Salah, we make du'a to Allah asking Him: Guide us to the straight path. And the scholars have explained the straight path in different ways. One of them is: the straight path is the path of the Sunnah of Rasulullah. When it comes to your daily routine, your lifestyle, your worship — Salah, fasting, giving in charity, your akhlaq, your dealing with others, interacting with others — in every single thing, if you follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah, then that is the straight path. And this is what we beg Allah for in every single Salah.

May Allah allow us to follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah, because there is always khair, there is always good in following the Sunnah of the Prophet, as he used to say: خَيْرُ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ — the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.

Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send blessings upon him and send salutations upon him.

O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the people of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the people of Ibrahim. You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the people of Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrahim and the people of Ibrahim. You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.

O our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will be among the losers.

Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Might and Glory, above what they attribute. And peace be upon the messengers. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.