20170331- 2nd Khutba - Sheikh Arsalan

Opening Sermon (Khutbah)

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ، أَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَسْتَهْدِيهِ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ. وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا مُحَمَّدًا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَفِيُّهُ وَخَلِيلُهُ.

بَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ، وَأَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ، وَنَصَحَ الْأُمَّةَ، وَجَاهَدَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ حَتَّى أَتَاهُ الْيَقِينُ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ الطَّيِّبِينَ الطَّاهِرِينَ، وَصَحَابَتِهِ الصَّالِحِينَ الْغُرِّ الْمَيَامِينَ، وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ.

A Reminder Before the Khutbah

Brothers and sisters, before I get into the topic of the khutbah, I feel like I have to say something based on some observations that I'm making right now. If you don't know, brothers and sisters, you must know that once the adhan is called for Salatul Jum'ah, it is not permissible for you to talk to each other — whether it's talking to each other in a live conversation or through one of these devices.

To be on your phone — whether it's checking your text messages or whatever it is that we do on our phones — to be on our phones once the adhan of Salatul Jum'ah is called shows to us where our heart really is. If we cannot even disconnect when Allah is calling us to His remembrance, when we cannot even forget our phones to remember Allah, then that tells us where our heart is. So once the adhan begins, the phones should disappear.

I know that perhaps some of us don't know. If we don't know, we should learn insha'Allah and we should try our best to practice. Secondly, there is tremendous reward — and we don't have time to go into the details of the ahadith — but there is tremendous reward as mentioned by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم for us to come and sit close to the khatib during the khutbah. The reward is not the same when we sit far in the back versus when we come and sit close to the khatib.

I know that sometimes some of us have to leave quickly after Salatul Jum'ah. And if that happens occasionally because of an emergency type of situation, that's a different story. But to make it a regular habit shows that we don't care about that reward. And if we don't care about the reward, perhaps Allah will not care to give it to us. May Allah never make us negligent of His reward. May Allah help us come closer to Him and strive to come closer to Him in every possible way. Ameen ya rabbil alameen.

The Meaning of Taqwa

It is related that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to begin his khutbah — his sermons — with the ayahs that we also recite during every khutbah. Starting with the ayah:

What does this ayah mean? يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — O you who have attained iman, O you who have attained faith. اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ — Have taqwa of Allah. Have taqwa of Allah.

What is taqwa? Taqwa is an Arabic word that comes from the root وَقَى يَقِي. And literally the meaning of وَقَى is to shield yourself, or to protect yourself, to guard yourself and to avert some harm or something painful away from yourself. That's the meaning of the root word وَقَى يَقِي. So اتِّقَاء, which is the same as taqwa, means literally to put up a barrier between myself and something that I believe will hurt me.

So taqwa — when we say have taqwa of Allah, when Allah says have taqwa of Allah — the ulema explain what that means: literally, first of all, is to protect myself from Allah. Protect myself from the punishment of Allah. To protect myself from the anger and wrath of Allah. How do I do that? By protecting my actions from earning the wrath of Allah. By watching my behavior and protecting the way that I behave so that I don't do something that will earn the wrath of Allah and the punishment of Allah. When I do that, I am observing taqwa.

Now the Prophet ﷺ said — pointing to his chest three times — he said: "Taqwa is herein. Taqwa is in here." What does that mean? That means that the reality, the seat of taqwa, is not in our limbs — even though it manifests in the way that we behave. Taqwa manifests itself in the way that we behave. But the seat of taqwa is inside the qalb.

So when inside of me I am conscious, aware, and vigilant about the way that my limbs behave — because I don't want to offend Allah, because I don't want to anger Allah, because I don't want to be distant from Allah — that feeling and that attitude inside of the qalb, that is taqwa. But if I have an attitude where I don't care how my limbs behave, when I don't care what I look at whether it pleases Allah or displeases Allah, when I don't care what I listen to, when I don't care what I say with my tongue, when I don't care how I use my hands and my feet and my sexual drives — then taqwa is absent.

Or when I behave in a way that seems to be in obedience of Allah عز وجل, but the motivation inside of me is not for Allah — I am not doing it out of awareness of Allah, out of consciousness of Allah, I'm doing it for some other reason — then even though the limbs seem to be in taqwa, the heart is not in taqwa.

Umar ibn al-Khattab and Ubayy ibn Ka'b on Taqwa

Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله تعالى عنه once asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b رضي الله تعالى عنه: "What is taqwa?" So Ubayy replied and he said:

"Have you ever walked on a path that is surrounded by pricks and thorns? How do you walk on such a path?" So Umar said:

"I lift my garment, I collect my garment and walk very carefully." So Ubayy said:

"That is taqwa." When we are careful in the way that we behave — because, maybe we are afraid of Allah's punishment, but maybe because we love Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Out of love for Allah, we are careful not to do anything that would displease my Beloved.

Taqwa is not just fear of Allah. Taqwa is different from خَوْف and خَشْيَة. Taqwa is a different word. Taqwa is a manifestation of fear, or love, or hope, or all of them. So I am careful in the way that I feel and the way that I behave — what I harbor inside of my heart towards my brother or my sister, or about Allah سبحانه وتعالى. I am careful in all of that because I don't want to offend Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Because either I am afraid of Him, or because I am in love with Allah, or because I hope to receive His reward and to be with His awliya on the Day of Judgment. All of that, brothers and sisters, is taqwa.

Taqwa is an Obligation

اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ — Allah سبحانه وتعالى says have taqwa of Allah حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ:

This means حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ means to have the taqwa of Allah because it is His haqq — it is His right and it is our obligation, our wajib towards our Master. اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ — have taqwa of Allah not just to show off to people but because this is His right upon us and our obligation towards Allah سبحانه وتعالى.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله تعالى عنه used to say:

He used to say that taqwa is to obey Allah, to remember Allah, and to thank Allah سبحانه وتعالى. حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ — it is wajib, it is required, it is His right and our duty to Him.

What Does It Mean to Die as a Muslim?

"And do not die except that you are Muslims." Do not die in a state in which you are not Muslim. Muslim — what is a Muslim? Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said in a hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 10; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 64)

When we think of a Muslim, usually we think of someone who prays five times a day, who looks a certain way. But Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: the Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands other people are protected and safe. So, if I have a long beard and I wear my clothes above my ankles and I pray in the first saff — but my brothers and sisters are not protected from my tongue, I lie to them, I backbite them, I curse at them, I verbally abuse them, I mock them, I ridicule them, I demean them — then am I Muslim?

And actually, the hadith says — in one narration مَنْ سَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ, and in another narration مَنْ سَلِمَ النَّاسُ — not just my brothers and sisters, but humanity in general. Are my co-workers protected from my hands? الْمُسْلِمُ مَنْ سَلِمَ النَّاسُ مِنْ لِسَانِهِ وَيَدِهِ — the Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands other people are safe and protected.

How to Ensure We Die as Muslims

How can we make sure that we will not die without being Muslim? Because how can we control the way we're going to die? And Muslim is also, of course, someone who surrenders to Allah سبحانه وتعالى — from the root السَّلَام — the one who surrenders to Allah lovingly. When I surrender my desires, my wishes, to Allah's will and pleasure, then I'm a Muslim. How can I make sure that I will die in that state?

As the ulema say:

People will die in the way that they live their life. The way that I live my life is the way that I'm going to die. And people will be resurrected in the way that they die. So, in order to make sure that I will die as a Muslim, I have to make sure that I live my life as a Muslim. I have to guard my Islam during the times of health and prosperity so that it stays with me during times of illness and adversity. But if I ignore Islam, if I ignore the rights of Allah and the rights of people upon me throughout the times of happiness and prosperity, then when times become tough, I have a crisis of faith.

The Danger of Insincerity

But it's not enough to commit righteous actions. What is also just as important is to be sincere in those actions — to do those actions sincerely for the sake of Allah. Because Rasulullah ﷺ said that one of you shall commit the actions of the people of Jannah until there is only an arm's length between you and Jannah:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6594; Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 6390)

And then the decree of Allah will take over and you will begin to commit the actions of the people of the fire until you enter it — والعياذ بالله. How can that happen? Rasulullah ﷺ said: because the person commits those actions showing off to people. When a person lives what seems to be a righteous life فِيمَا يَبْدُو لِلنَّاسِ — it's a righteous life, but the motivation is not Allah; the motivation is to show off to people, so people say, "Oh, MashaAllah, look at this person, he is such a righteous person." Then sometimes Allah exposes the person before they die, and the person will then begin to even outwardly do the actions of the people of Hellfire until he or she enters it.

So it is important to live a righteous life, but to do those righteous actions sincerely for the sake of Allah. If we struggle to do that every day of our lives — if we struggle to live a life of righteousness sincerely for the sake of Allah — then insha'Allah we will die in a state of Islam, in a state of being Muslim.

The True Believer's Hope and Fear

And therefore, brothers and sisters, a true believer always has a feeling of worry about whether or not they are going to have حُسْنُ الْخَاتِمَة — whether they are going to die in a beautiful state. Al-Hasan al-Basri رحمه الله تعالى used to say:

He used to say that the believer obeys Allah but feels afraid — a believer obeys Allah but feels inside of him or herself afraid whether or not Allah عز وجل will accept it from him or her. But a wicked person disobeys Allah and feels safe. May Allah سبحانه وتعالى make us among the true believers.

One time the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to a man of the Ansar who was on his deathbed. And so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to him:

"How are you doing?" And the man said: بِخَيْرٍ — "I'm doing okay." But then he said:

"O Rasool Allah, I have hope in Allah but I am afraid of my sins." And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 983; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4261)

He said to him: "Whenever these two feelings — hope and fear — whenever these two feelings come together in the heart of a person who is about to die, Allah gives him what he hopes for and protects him from what he is afraid of."

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ فَيَا فَوْزَ الْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَأَفْضَلُ الصَّلَاةِ وَأَتَمُّ التَّسْلِيمِ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ.

The Prophetic Advice in Every Khutbah: Amanah and 'Ahd

Brothers and sisters, there are other ayahs that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم also used to recite at the beginning of his khutab. Besides the one that we talked about, insha'Allah in the future sometime we will talk about the meanings of some of those other ayahs. But I close with this: there is a hadith found in the Musnad of Imam Ahmed and other books of hadith, and it is a sound hadith — hadithun hasan insha'Allah:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 12406; also reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

Anas ibn Malik رضي الله تعالى عنه said: the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم never gave a khutbah except that he said in it the following words — every time he gave a khutbah, he gave them this piece of advice. What is it? He said: "The one who does not fulfill his trust has no iman. The one who does not fulfill his trust has no faith. And the one who breaks their promises has no deen."

Two things. Number one: the one who does not fulfill his trust has no iman. I want you to think about that for a second. When people put you in a position where they trust you, they give you an amanah, they ask you to take care of something for them, they come to you with something and they want you to fix it and they expect you to do your work with honesty and then they pay you for that — or vice versa: when you do work for someone, it's a trust between you and them that they will pay you at the end. When you do work for them, it's a trust. But then they betray their trust — they don't pay. Or vice versa, you go and give someone something to fix and then you pay them, and then later you find out that the person didn't do the work properly — it's a trust, it's a betrayal of trust.

When we live in a country and we agree to abide by the laws of that country — we agree to live as peaceful citizens of the country — and then if we go and we commit acts of violence or we break the law: the one who betrays their trust has no iman.

And the one who breaks their promises has no deen. The one who breaks their word — "Brother, I will see you at 4 o'clock," and you're there at 4 o'clock and the person is not there, and it happens consistently — I might have a Muslim name, I might have a long beard, I might wear a hijab or a niqab, but if I don't fulfill my word and my trust, then iman and deen are not perfect. This is another piece of advice that the Prophet ﷺ always used to give in his khutab.

May Allah make us among those who listen to the words of admonition and follow the best of them. May Allah make us among those who follow the best of them.

Closing Du'a

عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ، وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.