20170428- 1st Khutba -Sheikh Arsalan

Khutbah al-Ula — Opening Praise and Testimony

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, ask for His forgiveness, and ask for His guidance. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whosoever He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, his servant, his messenger, his chosen one, and his companion, delivered the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah. And he strived in the cause of Allah for the truth of his Jihad until the certainty came to him.

Tests Come in Two Forms: Adversity and Prosperity

Brothers and sisters, Allah mentions in the Qur'an:

That we shall test you — or we test you — with evil and with good as a trial. Tests from Allah come in two ways: either in the form of adversity, in the form of difficulty, or they come in the form of prosperity, in the form of ease, comfort, luxury.

And the Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith related by Imam Muslim in his Sahih and others:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 55, Hadith 2999)

He said ﷺ: Amazing is the affair of the believer. The life of a believer, the case of the believer, the situation and circumstances of the believer is incredible. He said: all of his affairs, all of his circumstances are good for him. And that is only for the believer — it's not for anybody else. And then he said: إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ — if he or she experiences prosperity and ease and comfort in life, then he or she shows thanks, gives thanks, and that is good for him or her. But if he or she experiences adversity, difficulty, pain, suffering, tragedy — صَبَرَ — then he or she observes patience, is patient, and that becomes good for him or her.

Sometimes when we think of tests and trials from Allah, we only think of difficulties. But ease is also a test from Allah. And ease requires a proper response just like difficulty requires a proper response. The proper response for difficulty is patience, and the proper response for ease is gratitude.

And even though most of us tend to focus more on adversities and difficulties — and therefore we tend to remember more the importance of patience — in actuality, gratitude comes before patience. Being thankful, showing shukr to Allah, comes before صَبْر. Rasulullah ﷺ in the hadith that I just mentioned to you, he mentions shukr before صَبْر. He mentions سَرَّاء before ضَرَّاء:

He first mentions ease and prosperity, and he mentions gratitude, before he mentions difficulties and patience.

The Blessings of Allah Are Endless

The fact of the matter is, brothers and sisters, that the blessings of Allah are endless. They have no limit. Whereas the afflictions of Allah are not — even though we sometimes feel that it is the opposite. Because Allah mentions in the Quran:

That if you were to count the blessings of Allah, if you were to count the ni'am — the favors of Allah — you would not be able to count them all.

The Blessing of the Eye

If we just look at one blessing of Allah that we enjoy — the blessing of the eye. For most of us, we enjoy this blessing. This blessing of Allah, in it, it contains so many blessings. The fact that the eye blinks — we don't even think about it — and we blink so many times during the day. Can you imagine what would happen if we couldn't blink?

There is a very famous rich man of the 20th century by the name of Aristotle Onassis, who had this illness. He was one of the richest people of the world at the time. But he couldn't blink. And he said that he would give up everything he had in order to cure himself from that illness. We don't even think about it. We blink away throughout the day. And that is a blessing of Allah.

The fact that of course we can see with our eyes. We can walk through darkness and through light. We can drive without the help of anybody. That is a blessing of Allah. The fact that we can distinguish colors — you know many people are colorblind, they cannot distinguish red from green, and that's why the traffic lights are always in the same order, so that the people who are colorblind know whether the light is red or green. The blessing of being able to distinguish colors. The blessing of the ability to experience beauty — that when we see something beautiful, to be able to experience that and appreciate that. That is a blessing of the eye. Even the eyelashes that Allah has created for us, that protect our eyes from foreign agents — there are people who can't grow eyelashes; they have an illness. All of these blessings and more, just in the eye itself. And then how many other blessings of Allah we enjoy.

Understanding Shukr: What Does Gratitude Really Mean?

The response, brothers and sisters, that we must have for these blessings of Allah is to be thankful. Shakara. You know, the word shakara and the word kashafa have the same meaning in the Arabic language — shakara and kashafa. Which basically means to uncover something. The opposite is kafara, which is to cover something. Kafara means to cover something. That's why a farmer, when they cover the seed to grow the plant, that act is called kafara. So the opposite of kafara is shakara or kashafa — to unveil something.

The idea is that when we do shukr for a blessing of Allah, we are exposing the blessing of Allah. We are showing and acknowledging that Allah has indeed blessed us. And the opposite is kafara — to deny that Allah has favored us. To deny that we have so many blessings in life. To deny that, to ignore that, to belittle that, to not appreciate and not acknowledge that, and only complain about our pain and suffering and difficulties — that is an act of kufran ni'mah. That is an act of kufr — not disbelief. But the same word kufr is used for disbelief and it's used for ingratitude. Because disbelief is covering the reality that Allah exists, covering the reality that Allah is one. And kufr is also covering the reality that Allah has blessed us with countless favors, with countless blessings from Him.

And therefore, brothers and sisters, to do shukr — which is the opposite of kufran ni'mah — requires that we speak about the blessings of Allah. That when people ask us "How are you?", we acknowledge that alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed me with so much. I am enjoying the blessings of Allah. Allah has blessed me with this and that. To speak about that is part of being a servant of Allah who is grateful to Him. To complain that I do not experience ease in life, to complain that I don't have blessings in my life from Allah — that is kufran ni'mah. That is being ungrateful for the blessings of Allah.

Ibn Ata'illah al-Sakandari on Gratitude

And about this, Ibn Ata'illah al-Sakandari warns us in one of his hikam. He says:

He said: whoever does not show thanks for the blessings that they enjoy in life, then they are putting these blessings at risk of being taken away — at risk of these blessings being removed from his or her life. But whoever shows thanks for them, then he is tying them with chains. In other words, he is making sure that they will remain with him. If you have a blessing from Allah, chain it by showing thanks for it.

As Allah says:

If you are thankful, I will for sure increase you in your blessings.

Shaytan's Pledge Against Gratitude

Shukr, brothers and sisters — showing thanks to Allah — is so important. Because Shaytan, Iblis, he swore to Allah as the Qur'an tells us. He swore to make sure that most human beings will be ungrateful to Allah. And Allah in Surah al-A'raf also confirms that only a few of His servants will be truly thankful and grateful to Him:

As Iblis made this arrogant pledge before Allah: I will make sure that most of them will not be grateful to You. And Allah says:

Few are those from My ibad, from My servants, who are shakur, who are grateful.

Three Ways to Show Shukr

How can we be thankful for the blessings that we enjoy? The ulama mention that the way to show thanks is through three means:

1. With the Heart

To feel a sense of appreciation for the blessings that we enjoy in life. And sometimes these blessings come through other people — Allah blesses us by way of other people in our lives. So to appreciate a favor of my brother or my sister, or my aunt or my uncle, or my fellow Muslim brother or sister — to appreciate that inside of my heart is part of appreciating the blessing of Allah, and therefore being thankful for the blessing of Allah. But to ignore that, to take it for granted, is not being grateful for the blessings of Allah.

2. With the Tongue

And one of the ways that we do that is simply by saying alhamdulillah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 34, Hadith 3800; also related by al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3383)

He said that the best dhikr is La ilaha illa Allah, and the best dua is alhamdulillah. But it's interesting because alhamdulillah is not really, literally, a dua. Dua means that you ask Allah for something. In alhamdulillah, you're not asking for anything — you're just praising Allah. So why did Rasulullah ﷺ call it dua? Not just dua, but the best dua? The ulama mention because when we say alhamdulillah, we are in a way asking for more blessings. Because Allah said: لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ — if you're thankful, I will give you more. So we're thankful by saying alhamdulillah, and that in turn brings us more from Allah. That's why it is the best dua — because we're asking without even verbalizing the request. Simply saying alhamdulillah — praise be to Allah.

3. Through Actions

Showing thanks to Allah also requires that we not only feel it with our hearts and express it with our tongues, but also the way that we act, the way that we behave, the way that we use that blessing of Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an:

Commanding the family of Dawood to do shukr — not to say shukr, not to feel shukr, but do amal, do shukr. And then He says: few are those from My servants who actually are truly thankful. Using the blessings of Allah in the way that He intended for them to be used — that's how I show shukr for those blessings through my actions.

How Do We Respond to Allah's Blessings in Our Lives?

Allah has blessed all of us in different ways. Alhamdulillah, some of us — most of us, I would say — have been blessed with the blessing of health. Health is a blessing of Allah. And therefore the question is: how do I use my health? Do I use my health to run away from Allah? Or do I use my health to run towards Allah? When I'm healthy and young, what do I do with my health, my energy, my physical strength? Do I spend it in ways that Allah does not love? Or do I spend it in ways that Allah loves? Is it when I'm young and healthy that I make an effort to go for hajj? Or do I delay that until I'm old and frail — when I need someone else's help to perform hajj — because I'm too busy when I'm healthy and full of energy to amass more of this dunya, ignoring my obligations towards Allah? Am I thankful for the blessing of health?

Alhamdulillah, we live in Plano, Texas. Most of us here are enjoying the blessing of wealth. Allah has blessed us with so much wealth. And we're able to buy houses — and large houses. We're able to buy cars, and expensive cars, and multiple cars, and devices and gadgets. Alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed us with that. There's nothing wrong with that. But how do I respond to these blessings of Allah? Do I use my big house to host other believers? To serve them? To take them as guests? Do I host family members and make it easy for them to stay with us in our homes? Do I welcome guests into my house and serve them for the sake of Allah? Or do I allow my home to distract me from my obligations towards Allah? Do I use this blessing of Allah to become competitive with others about who has a bigger house and a more beautiful house — making it into a social competition chasing after this dunya?

What is my response to this blessing of Allah — the house? How do I respond to the blessing of Allah in the form of a beautiful car? How do I respond to the blessing of Allah in the form of money, wealth that He gives me? Do I spend some of it at least for those who are in need, who are poor — those in my family, my own relatives who are in need, and then outside of that?

Allah has blessed us with children, with spouses. Do I thank Allah for that by fulfilling the rights of my spouse? By fulfilling the rights of my children? By spending quality time with them? By going out of my way to keep them happy in ways that are halal? Or do I take these blessings of family and children and allow them to become a distraction — to make me forget about my obligations towards Allah? Do I ignore the fact that these are favors of Allah and take them for granted, and therefore ignore the rights that they have upon me — so I don't spend time with them, I don't care for their needs, I'm always angry with them, I'm always demeaning to them, I ridicule them, I abuse them? That's all kufran ni'mah. That's being ungrateful for the favor of Allah. And I am risking myself that Allah may take this blessing away from me.

Allah has blessed us to be able to get our children married, and for us to get married. Marriage is a blessing of Allah. It's from the ayat of Allah as He mentions in the Quran. It's a sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ — he said ﷺ: النِّكَاحُ مِنْ سُنَّتِي. When we get married, when we finally have our children getting married — that's a blessing of Allah. Do we thank Allah in the way that we perform those wedding receptions and ceremonies? Or do we do them in ways that Allah does not love? Do we make them a show, a form of competition, and fill those gatherings with things that Allah and His Messenger do not love — things we would be embarrassed to have the Prophet ﷺ walk into? How do we hold those occasions? Are we grateful in the way that we organize those events? Or are we ignoring that those are favors from Allah that we need to show thanks for?

When my child finally finishes the recitation of the Quran — that's a blessing from Allah. It's a moment of celebration, yes. So do I celebrate that by inviting people, by hosting them, by serving them, by celebrating the Quran, and filling that event with the recitation of the Quran and the praise of Allah with my heart and with my actions? Do I show thanks for that? Or do I once again hold an event in such a way that we would be embarrassed if Rasulullah ﷺ were to walk into that gathering? Are we organizing that event in a way that the Quran will come and witness for us on the Day of Judgment? Or will the Quran come pleading to Allah and complaining for the way that it was placed in that type of environment?

How do we respond to these blessings of Allah? Do we respond with thankfulness, with gratitude, with a sense of awareness that Allah has given these to us and if He wants to, He can take them away? Do we show thanks for them, or are we ungrateful ingrates — ignoring Allah and using the blessings that He gave us to disobey Him?

May Allah make us grateful for His blessings. May Allah make us among His ibad — al-Shakireen, al-Zakireen, al-Sabireen, al-Saliheen.

I say this, and I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and for you, so ask His forgiveness. May the winner be the one who asks for forgiveness.

Khutbah al-Thaniyah — Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And the best form of prayer and the most complete submission is to our Master Muhammad and to all his family and companions.

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

Brothers and sisters, all praise is due to Allah — we have so much to be thankful for. But even if we are going through difficulties in life, we must not forget that we always have something to be thankful for to Allah. And the Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith related by Abdullah ibn Abbas and authenticated by al-Hakim and al-Dhahabi:

(Al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim, authenticated by al-Hakim and al-Dhahabi, narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas)

That the first people who will be called to Jannah on the Day of Judgment are those who thank Allah and praise Him in prosperity and adversity — in prosperity and adversity.

May Allah give us the insight to see His blessings even when we're going through hardship, so that we are able to thank Him for His blessings and not forget those blessings while we are being patient with the difficulties that He has tried us with. If we do that, brothers and sisters, then we would be shakur. Because shakur is different from shakir. Shakur is a person who is grateful not only during ease and prosperity, but a person who is grateful during calamities and difficulties.

Come to your prayer, establish your prayer.