20160429 - 2nd Khutba - Sheikh Aseel Khan

Opening Praises and Testimony of Faith

All praise is due to Allah, Who has sent down the Book upon His servant, and has not made a crooked path for him, that He may warn of a severe punishment from Himself. And He gives good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds, that they will have a good reward. They will never remain in it.

And He warns those who say, Allah has taken his children. And we bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and He alone has no partner. And we bear witness that our Master, Muhammad, is His servant and His Messenger, His Beloved and His Friend.

The Covenant of the Prophets

As for what follows, I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

And when Allah took a covenant from the Prophets, saying: "I have certainly given you a Book and Wisdom. Then a Messenger came to you, confirming what is with you — that you should believe in it and support it." He said, "Have you agreed? And you took upon that a covenant." They said, "We agreed." He said, "Then bear witness, and I am with you as a witness."

Fear Allah as He should be feared, and you will not die except as Muslims. And hold fast to the rope of Allah, all of you, and be not divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies — then He united your hearts, and you became brothers by His favor. And you were on the edge of a pit of fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you, that you may be guided.

The Prophet's Trials: As-Sadiq Al-Amin

We have heard from the scholars. We have learned from the Books. The Prophet ﷺ was called As-Sadiq Al-Amin — the Most Truthful, the Most Trustworthy.

So when the Prophet ﷺ announced his Prophethood, the same people who used to call him As-Sadiq Al-Amin became his enemies. The Meccans rejected his call. They did not believe in him. Instead of respecting him, they became his enemies, and they did not let pass any single chance to harm him.

But at that time, two personalities stood side by side. They tried their best to comfort him. Whenever he became sad, they were close to him. These two personalities were his beloved uncle, Abu Talib, and Ummul Mu'mineen, Hazrat Khadijah Al-Kubra, may Allah be pleased with her.

The Journey to Ta'if and Its Aftermath

With the passage of time, Khadijah Al-Kubra, may Allah be pleased with her — his beloved wife — left this world. Then afterwards, his beloved uncle also passed away. He had a great hope, since the Meccans had rejected him, that the people of Ta'if — very kind people — would follow his mission and accept his message of truth.

So he went to Ta'if. Then what happened? Instead of accepting him or his message, they treated him so badly — they even threw stones on him, and his body became injured. His body was bleeding.

When his body was bleeding, the angels came and requested: "If you allow us, we will crush them between the mountains, we will destroy them." The Prophet ﷺ instead made du'a for them: "May Allah give them hidayah, because they do not know me." And he had this hope that from their very generation — the same people who were treating him so badly — they would follow the message of truth. So Rasul Allah ﷺ made du'a for them.

So when he returned back, those two personalities were no longer there. The Meccans were his enemies. The people of Ta'if — he had had a great hope from them — apparently, there was no hope from them either. And then, that was a time when his Creator, Allah, invited him. He invited him — and this is called the heavenly journey, this is called Al-Isra Wal Mi'raj.

Allah invited him to honor him and to comfort him. As if saying: "If these people have rejected you, your Creator — your Beloved — is inviting you, to show you His ayahs."

The Covenant Fulfilled: The Night of Mi'raj

That ayah which was recited — Allah says: "And remember when Allah took the covenant of the prophets in Alam al-Arwah — all the prophets were gathered." And remember when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, saying: "Take whatever I gave you from the Book and hikmah — the understanding of the laws of Allah. And afterwards, there will come to you a messenger — Muhammad ﷺ — confirming what is with you. You must then believe in him and help him."

Allah said: "Do you agree? And will you take My covenant which I conclude with you?" They said: "We agree." He said: "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses for this."

All the Anbiya ikram came before the Prophet ﷺ. But again, Allah gathered their arwah and took this covenant in Alam al-Arwah — before they came into existence in Alam al-Ajsam. "The prophet will come to you, and you must believe in him. You must help him."

How is it possible? The mufassirun, the mufassirin ikram, they interpreted: it was fulfilled in the night of Mi'raj. This covenant was fulfilled in the night of Mi'raj.

The Authenticity of Al-Isra Wal Mi'raj

Just for our information — this great miracle occurred, this great miracle was performed — and in this great miracle, there are certain things related to our iman. Our iman increases. And it is very authentic. The scholars, the ulema, they agreed upon this — that it is so authentic that whoever denies or disbelieves, saying "I don't believe in Isra and Mi'raj" — in fact, he is denying the Quran. And because of denying the Quran, he will no longer be in the fold of Islam. So authentic.

So on one hand, we have lessons — certain things are related to our belief, our iman. Our iman increases. There are certain things related to our ilm and information. But there are certain things related to our amal — that we have to implement in our life. We have to learn a lesson and implement in our life.

The Quranic Verse of Al-Isra

As is well documented in the Quran — from this ayah and the second ayah in Surah Al-Isra — Allah revealed Surah Al-Isra. This belongs to our iman. This is related to our iman, that we believe — we strongly believe — in it. Allah says:

Glorified and exalted — Subhan. Subhan means exalted. Subhan is used when some people might have doubts, and this word is used. He is exalted. He is free from imperfection. He is free from all kinds of defects and faults.

Allah has power over all things. He can do anything.

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ — "Glory be to Allah, exalted, Who did take His servant." What is the meaning of abd? According to some interpretation, they say abd is رُوحٌ مَعَ الجَسَدِ — the soul with the body — and that is called abd. As a great honor: the abd of Who? When the Prophet ﷺ went on Mi'raj, Allah asked him: بِمَ أُشَرِّفُكَ يَا مُحَمَّد؟ — "How should We honor you? How should We call you?" The Rasul ﷺ preferred to be called abd — the Servant of Allah. The perfect abd. Who makes ibadah of Allah.

Glory be to Allah, Who did take His servant laylan — from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa. Laylan — not for the entire night, but a portion of the night. Those who know Arabic will be able to understand: Asra and Laylan means to travel by night. But again, Laylan has tanwin, and tanwin has a specific meaning — it means not the entire night, but a portion of the night. Because this is called a miracle. A miracle is beyond our comprehension. It is not against the divine laws of Allah, the divine laws of nature — it is unusual. The common people will not be able to understand. It is beyond our comprehension. That is why it is called mu'jizah.

There are certain things that we must strongly believe in, but not necessarily must we understand everything. In the portion of night, from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa, then: الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ. So we strongly believe, and in this whole journey — very specific, very comprehensive — Allah took His servant from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa. And from Masjid al-Aqsa — this is called Al-Isra.

It is full of lessons. Full of knowledge. Full of information. And in Sahih al-Bukhari, it is well documented — lengthy ahadith — what has happened in this particular night. Then after that, after Masjid al-Aqsa, the soul ﷺ was taken to the heavens and beyond the heavens — beyond Sidrat al-Muntaha.

He became so close — like two bow-lengths or even nearer. Then he revealed to His servant whatever he revealed. The secret revelation. The secret conversation.

The Rasul ﷺ does not speak by his own. He does not say anything by his own. Whatever he received in revelation — what Allah reveals to him — then he says. So in the Ahadith, in the Sahih Sittah, in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and all the other muhaddithun, they interpreted from the Quranic ayat. And Tafsir Ibn Kathir — one of the most authentic tafasir — and which is well preserved and well documented, especially on this topic.

Examples Witnessed During the Night Journey

So what I am trying to say here — because time is limited — the things that we have to learn: these are the things we have to believe, and they are full of information. But in this particular night, the lessons that we receive are as follows.

Rasul Allah ﷺ was welcomed at different levels of the heavens, and he was presented many examples. So one of the examples presented in this particular night — what was it?

First Example: The Punishment of Backbiting

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4878; also referenced in Musnad Ahmad)

Rasul Allah ﷺ was presented one example: he passed by a people, and they were scratching their faces and their chests with copper nails — long nails. They were scratching their faces, and they were being punished. Rasul Allah ﷺ asked: "O Jibril, who are they?" He replied: "They are those who used to eat the flesh of their brothers — those who used to do backbiting."

You know — in the absence of their brothers, they would say certain things. If the brother were there, he would not like it. That is called backbiting. Rasul Allah ﷺ was asked: if the things we are talking about a person actually do belong to him — we find them in him — what then? Rasul Allah ﷺ said: "That is called backbiting." And if the things do not belong to him, or he does not fit into that category, then you are slandering him — and that is worse still.

And unfortunately, this is a habit we are adopting. Backbiting all the time. We are trying to let our brothers down. Instead of covering them, we are making mention of their faults, and trying to dishonor them — to disgrace them. And if we have these habits, then Rasul Allah ﷺ was presented this example — and the punishment for this is great. We have to spare ourselves. May Allah preserve us all.

Second Example: Those Who Neglect Salah

Another example was presented: there were certain people whose heads were being crushed with rocks. When their heads would be crushed with the rocks, they would regain consciousness, then again be punished in the same way. Rasul Allah ﷺ enquired: "Who are they?" They are those for whom, when the time of salah approaches, their heads become heavy — the salah becomes heavy upon them. They have time for everything, but for the time of salah: "I have no time." It becomes heavy. So Rasul Allah ﷺ said that on the Day of Judgement, these people will be punished, and their heads will be crushed with rocks — which Rasul Allah ﷺ himself observed with his own eyes.

Third Example: Those Who Consumed Usury (Riba)

Another example was presented: there were some people whose bellies were so huge and big. They would try to stand up — they would try to get up — but because of their enormous bellies, they would fall down. They would try to get up again but could not. Who were they? They were those who practiced riba — usury or interest — without even feeling that it was haram. They were taking it as lawful. They did not even feel it. So now what happens? On the Day of Judgement, these people will be punished. And unfortunately, now — directly or indirectly — most of us are involved in interest. May Allah preserve us all.

Fourth Example: Those Who Prefer the Haram Over the Halal

Another example was presented: the ladies or the men — they were eating. They had fresh food and they also had rotten and stinking food. So instead of eating the right food, instead of eating the proper food, they were eating the stinking and rotten, smelling food. Rasul Allah ﷺ asked: "Who are they?" They are those whom Allah had blessed with righteous spouses — with the halal, the lawful spouses — but instead of their lawful spouses, they preferred the haram. And because they preferred the haram, they will be punished.

Fifth Example: Scholars Who Misguide People

And also, another example was mentioned — may Allah preserve us all: there were certain people who were cutting their lips and their tongues with scissors of fire. They were cutting their lips and tongues with scissors of fire. They would be cut, and then regrow, then be cut again. Who are they? They are ulama-e-su' — those who used to preach and misguide people. Those who create fitnahs. Those who mislead people, who give wrong fatwas, who create disturbance.

Unfortunately, because of those who pretend that they are ulama — and the people believe in them — if they give wrong fatwas, then what happens? Why are Muslims around the world today called terrorists, radicals, extremists? If these people are followers of someone who pretends to be ulama and gives wrong fatwas, this will be the result: they brainwash people. On the Day of Judgement, they will be punished, they will be punished.

The Night of Mi'raj: 27th of Rajab

The majority or the famous opinion — and what is recognized — is the 27th of Rajab, which is this month. The 27th of Rajab.

Lessons and Responsibilities for the Ummah

So my brothers and sisters in Islam — we are the followers of Rasul Allah ﷺ, and Rasul Allah ﷺ went through different experiences. His entire life was full of challenge. His entire life was full of tests and trials. And as Rasul Allah ﷺ had a concern about his Ummah — "My Ummah! My Ummah!" — now today, being the Ummati, being the Ummah of Rasul Allah ﷺ, what are our responsibilities?

These examples were presented — are we following this? Are we trying our best to stay away from these kinds of activities which will lead us to punishment?

So if you wish to create harmony in the society, if you wish to create peace and love, the first thing we have to do is stop backbiting. We have to stop backbiting. We have to honor our brothers instead of degrading them — instead of humiliating them and letting them down — we have to honor one another. We have to promote the right things. We have to prefer halal over haram, not haram over halal. We have to think and do that which is right.

If we follow these commandments of Allah and Rasul Allah ﷺ, then we will be true followers of Rasul Allah ﷺ. We will be learning Islam and following the Sunnah of Rasul Allah ﷺ.

I say this and ask forgiveness from Allah for me and you and for the believers. He is the Most Forgiving.

Second Part of the Khutbah

Alhamdulillah. We praise Him and we ask for His help. We ask for His forgiveness. We believe in Him and we rely on Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whoever He misguides, none can guide him. And we bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner for Him. And we bear witness that our Master and our Patron is Muhammad — His servant and His Messenger, His Beloved and His Friend.

Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and salutations of peace.

O Allah, support Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, support Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, support the Muslims everywhere. O Allah, support the Muslims everywhere. O Allah, support the Ummah of Muhammad.