EPIC MASJID, Sheikh Araafi, Four Surat starting with "Inna" and importance of Dawwah.

Opening Praises and Supplications

Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah alladhi bayyana al-haqqa li khalqihi wa fassalahu tafsila, ahmaduhu wa ashkuruhu jalla wa ala hamdan yuwaafi di'mahu wa yukaafi mazeedah, bukratan wa aseelan. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik ala sayyidina Muhammad al-mab'uthi rahmatan lil-'alamin, wa ala alihi wa as'habihi wa ikhwanihi, alladhina ihtadaw bihadyihi, wa iqtafaw atharahu, wa sa'aw ala nahjihi.

These are among the most perfect attributes of our Rabb, our Khaliq, our Raziq — Rabbul Alameen. Our Lord, our Creator, our Cherisher, our Glory, Lord of the worlds.

My dear respected brothers and sisters, alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, we are able to be as we witness and as we celebrate and experience this special day — the day of rahmah, the day of barakah, a day of abundance that Allah blessed us with.

The Perfection of Our Deen

And Allah says in Surah Al-Ma'idah:

This is an ayah that was revealed during Hajjat al-Wada', the final Hajj of the Prophet ﷺ, in the tenth year of Al-Hijrah. And Allah in it reminds us and emphasizes that He has perfected our deen for us.

أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ — the deen is perfect. A perfect way of life. Perfect religion. Perfect rituals. Perfect way of thinking. Perfect lifestyle.

وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي — and I have completed My favour upon you. Allah's favour has been perfected for us, Ahlul Islam.

وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا — and Allah is fully pleased with this deen to be ours. To be our way of life.

And if we look at four surahs in the Quran, we will see this excellence that Allah has given us. We will see this excellence that leads to abundant life. And all of these surahs have been started with Inna — the affirmation of certainty. We see excellence. And we see abundance.

The First Surah: Surah Al-Fath — Excellence in Iman

The first is Surah Al-Fath, Surah 48. Allah says:

Indeed, Allah granted our Prophet ﷺ a great victory — a manifest victory. إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا.

What is this Fath? What is this victory? It is, as you know, the peace accord between the Prophet ﷺ and Quraysh — the Sulh al-Hudaybiyyah — which took place in the sixth year of Al-Hijrah. The Prophet ﷺ told the Sahabah to get ready and go to perform Umrah, to visit Makkah. Close to Makkah, they were informed that they were not going to be allowed into Makkah. And then the Prophet ﷺ tried to negotiate with the Quraysh. And this culminated — ended — with this Sulh al-Hudaybiyyah. And Allah granted Fath — a manifest opening.

Why? Because that peace accord allowed the Prophet ﷺ to focus on da'wah. And it is, at the end of the day, the opening of the hearts to embrace the truth. To embrace the Tawheed. To accept this way of life. To see the greatness in it. To see the excellence in it. To see the abundance in it. The opportunity to reach out to people. The opportunity to reach the hearts and minds.

In the same surah, Allah said:

In this ayah, Allah reminds us of what happened during this incident. The Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them, pledged their support, their allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ. And Allah was so pleased with them. He knew what was in their hearts. He knew their dedication, their sincerity, their total devotion to Allah.

فَعَلِمَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ — He knew the excellence of their iman. He knew the strength of their loyalty to Allah and the Messenger ﷺ. فَأَنزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ — and He put down peace and tranquility upon them. وَأَثَابَهُمْ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا — and He gave them so much. He opened the world for them. It was their hearts. It was their iman. It was their sincerity. This is excellence of iman.

The Second Surah: Surah Nuh — Excellence in Da'wah

The second surah is Surah Nuh, Surah 71. Allah said:

Indeed, We sent Nuh alayhis-salam to warn his people. To warn his people. And Nuh alayhis-salam said in the surah:

He said: "O Allah, O my Lord, I have invited my people in the night and in the day." This was continuous da'wah on the part of this great Messenger of Allah. As Allah says in Surah Al-'Ankabut:

950 years of da'wah. 950 years of continuous da'wah. And this is excellence in da'wah. We need to understand and we need to apply continuous dedication to the cause of da'wah.

Every time he tries to call them, they will put their fingers in their ears. They will do childish things — just for them not to listen to what he says. And he is saying to his people what abundance they would receive by accepting this da'wah. That when you accept this da'wah, you will have so much abundance. You will gain so much by embracing the Tawheed. By accepting this way of life.

Second Portion of the Khutbah

Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, alhamdulillah al-kathir al-tayyib al-mubarak fihi kama yanbaghi li-jalali wajhihi wa azimi sultanih. Alhamdulillah kama yahmaduhul awwalun wal-akhirun, wal-anbiya'u wal-mursalun, wal-siddiqun wal-shuhada'u wal-salihun.

My dear brothers and sisters, we saw this excellent way of life. We saw how the Sahabah had their excellence in faith, in iman. And we saw in Surah Nuh how Allah reminds us of our duty — our duty to call others to Allah. And this is a continuous mission, a continuous duty that we have to think about every day. We have to be concerned about the people. We have to be concerned about our neighbors, about our colleagues, about our friends. We have to be concerned about humanity. We have to be concerned that people will reach, embrace, and have the opportunity to understand.

The Third Surah: Surah Al-Qadr — Excellence in Ibadah

The third surah that begins with Inna is Surah Al-Qadr, Surah 97. And in it, Allah shows us and gives us an opportunity to excel and experience the abundance of reward upon doing that.

This is a special night — we all know it. You could worship for a few hours and Allah gives you the reward of more than a thousand months — خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ — almost a hundred years, it could be more than a hundred years.

And this surah, my brothers and sisters, should always be in our hearts and minds. It is the engine for us when we worship Allah. When we pray, when we perform the salat, remember the reward of this night and have those few hours of ibadah — Allah will give us so much of blessings. خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ — excellence in ibadah.

And this is not only in Ramadan, as you know, or in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, or in a few days here and there in the year. This is supposed to be our motivation each and every day. Every time we stand before Allah, we need to remember how generous Allah is, how great the reward can be, how our need is to focus, to benefit, to dedicate ourselves in these few moments in our salat to Allah — and not let it be spoiled by our thinking about all the affairs and concerns and things that we busy ourselves with.

So in Surah Al-Fath we saw excellence in iman, in Surah Nuh we saw excellence in da'wah, and in Surah Al-Qadr we see excellence in ibadah. Remember Surah Al-Qadr. Remember those moments. Remember when you stand before Allah.

The Fourth Surah: Surah Al-Kawthar — Excellence in Service

And finally, the fourth surah:

Indeed, We have given Muhammad ﷺ al-khayr al-kathir — goodness in everything. This is everything. This is what is in the heart, what is in the mind — a truth, a moment always of abundance. But Allah has so much, and as Allah says in the next ayah, by us exercising that abundance — in our ibadah in both of its aspects: glorifying Allah, and caring for the makhluq, caring for humanity.

Both sides of ibadah. Both are ibadah. When we stand before Allah — that is ibadah. And when we are generous and kind and caring and serving others — that is also ibadah. And that is the excellence of service.

And this day symbolizes that service. The day we give the Qurban — it is obvious. For the sake of Allah, we keep part of it, to give as gifts to our neighbors, to our friends, to our loved ones. And we can give part of it also to those who are in need. It is a day of service. A day when we think of others. A day when we witness the generosity of Allah and in turn extend that, and we show Allah that we are truly grateful for what He has given us.

Conclusion: Four Areas of Excellence

Four areas of excellence:

• Excellence in Iman — read Surah Al-Fath.
• Excellence in Da'wah — read Surah Nuh.
• Excellence in Ibadah — read Surah Al-Qadr.
• Excellence in Service — always think about Surah Al-Kawthar.