2015-01-23 - Friday Prayer - Sheikh Asil Khan

Friday Khutbah — Sheikh Asil Khan

The Adhān

Opening Verses

Islam as a Complete Way of Life

My respected elders, all our brothers and sisters in Islam. Islam is a way of life. It includes our īmāniyyāt (matters of faith), our ibādāt (acts of worship), mu'āmalāt (dealings and transactions), and our akhlāqiyyāt (moral conduct). Islam is not only a bunch of few things, but it is a way of life.

The āyah that I have recited — Sūrah al-Baqarah, āyah number 177 — is very, very profound, very powerful, and comprehensive. Although each āyah of the Quran is profoundly very powerful and full of meanings, this āyah in particular is a brief introduction to Islam, a comprehensive introduction to Islam, that we all have to implement in our life.

Understanding Al-Birr (Righteousness)

Allah says: It is not al-birr — it is not only righteousness, it is not only piety, and every act of obedience to Allah — that you turn your faces towards east and west.

You know, when we perform ṣalāh, we face one direction — that is Mecca. If we live to the east of Mecca, we face west. When we are to the west of Mecca, we face east. So when we perform ṣalāh, we face Mecca, we face the Qiblah.

When this āyah was revealed, in the beginning, when ṣalāh became compulsory, the Muslims used to face towards Jerusalem — towards Masjid al-Aqṣā in Jerusalem. And even after migration, the first 17 months, they faced towards Masjid al-Aqṣā in Jerusalem. Then, after 17 months in Madīnah, the Rasūl, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, had a deep desire — you know, turning the Qiblah to Sayyidinā Ibrāhīm's direction, the Masjid al-Ḥarām. And finally Allah changed the Qiblah. And Masjid al-Qiblatayn is still existing in Madīnah — those who have made ziyārah would have seen this — but the direction was completely changed.

So at that time, the Yahūd, the Naṣārā, and the Mushrikīn started talking: "Look at them — they were facing one direction, now they have completely changed their direction." This is one interpretation of why this āyah was revealed.

Another interpretation is: just turning your faces towards east or west is not al-birr — righteousness or piety — because, as we believe, all directions belong to Allah. East and west and south and north, all directions belong to Allah. Wherever you turn your face, you will find Allah is there. So the point is obedience to Allah, following the commandments of Allah. If Allah says, "Face this direction," we will face there — because all directions belong to Allah.

The Four Pillars: Īmāniyyāt, Mu'āmalāt, Ibādāt, Akhlāqiyyāt

1. Īmāniyyāt — Matters of Faith

After the introduction about the Qiblah, our basic, fundamental beliefs are mentioned. The righteousness and piety belongs to the one who believes in Allah, in the Last Day, in the angels, in the Book — his kitāb, meaning the Quran, because the Quran confirms all previous books, so indirectly it means all the books — and in the prophets. Up to there we have our fundamental beliefs: our īmāniyyāt.

2. Mu'āmalāt — Dealings and Transactions

The next is our mu'āmalāt. No one knows what is in my heart and what is in your heart — Allah knows best. But when we talk about mu'āmalāt, the most challenging thing is: when Allah blesses someone with bounties and favours, the time to spend is the time to share with those who are needy, destitute, and deserving. That is a challenge.

Whatever you are blessed with, you have to share with those who are in need, those who are destitute and deserving. And who are more entitled, more deserving? Those who are close to you — kinsfolk. Your very close relatives. So the first thing you have to establish in your mu'āmalāt is with your close relatives: your brothers, your sisters, your uncles, your aunties, and so on.

The āyah specifies: the righteousness is of the one who gives his wealth, عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ — in spite of his love for it. 'Alā ḥubbih carries two interpretations. The first: you give only for the sake of Allah, not to gain fame or for any other reason. The second: what you give should not be something extra that you do not need, something like garbage. What you give is something you yourself love. As the Quran states elsewhere:

"You will never attain piety unless you spend of what you love." You give to others what you love. Those who are close to you, then yatāmā (orphans), masākīn (the poor), travelers, sā'ilīn (those who ask) — and so on.

Here is a misconception that must be addressed: when we give zakāh — 2.5% out of every nisāb — we sometimes think we have done enough. No, it is not enough; it depends on the circumstance and situation. If you have paid zakāh but people are still dying of hunger and thirst, people who do not have shelter, people who are dying from disease — those who are really in need — and you have paid your zakāh, you are still responsible. There is more required of you, to take care of those who are deserving and needy.

3. Ibādāt — Acts of Worship

Then comes: وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ — and he established prayer and gave zakāh. Iqāmat al-ṣalāh means establishing prayer; it does not mean once in a while. Praying once a month, or maybe once a week for Ṣalāt al-Jumu'ah — Islam does not teach that. Islam is a complete way of life. Establishing prayer means we have to be punctual in all five daily prayers. And then comes: the one who gives zakāh.

4. Akhlāqiyyāt — Moral Conduct: Fulfilling Covenants and Patience

Then comes: وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا — and those who fulfill their covenant when they make it. The word mūfūn has a specific meaning here: it does not mean that you fulfill your covenant once in a while and break your promises the rest of the time. Mūfūn means they always — always — fulfill their promise.

Then comes the foundation of our akhlāq: ṣabr. Ṣabr plays a very important role in our akhlāqiyyāt. And al-ṣābirīn — those who are patient — when they are in extreme poverty, suffering, out of jobs, with nothing to eat. Of course, as we see, alhamdulillāh, Allah has blessed us with a multitude of favours. But there are people who are really, really in need. They do not know what to do, and they lose their ṣabr. Then — ma'ādhallāh — sometimes what happens, a person who goes up to that level then leaves even Islam. Astaghfirullāh. So at that time we need patience, we need ṣabr.

And both circumstances require ṣabr — whether in prosperity or in adversity. A person who is really suffering may be exercising ṣabr. But the person who is in prosperity — who has a good time, whom Allah has blessed — how does he show his patience? Sometimes, when we are powerful, when we are in power, and if we do not have patience, we do not have ṣabr, we misuse power. If Allah has blessed us with a multitude of favours and we are rich, we misuse our wealth. When we start misusing our power, do you know what that means? We are not doing ṣabr. We must have ṣabr in both circumstances — whether in prosperity or in adversity.

Responding to Attacks on the Prophet ﷺ with Wisdom

Let me touch on this again in the context of ṣabr. Sometimes our īmān is tested time and again — it is checked, whether we still have īmān or whether our īmān has grown very weak. And because of this test, there are ignorant people who are disturbing the Muslim ummah, testing their īmān, by insulting the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Right now, throughout the world, Muslims are demonstrating.

Of course, we are all Muslim — we are the ummah of Muḥammad, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam — and we have to show our love and affection to the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. We do not compromise on that. Period. But how we react — that is the question.

In the Muslim world, the reaction has sometimes been to destroy our own properties. That is not the right reaction. The right reaction is: we have to check, we have to diagnose, why these ignorant people are testing our īmān. We have to use ḥikmah and wisdom. If they think they are going to gain fame, we have to ignore them — fail them in their mission. If they think they are going to disunite us, our responsibility becomes to unite ourselves, to show our unity. If they are spreading false messages to the nations and the people, this becomes our responsibility to convey the right message — to convey the teachings of Rasūl, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, to each and every single ignorant person. That will be our real reaction.

Not to become so emotional that we are destroying our own properties. With ṣabr, with ḥikmah, with wisdom, we have to take action in the right way and the right direction. Then, we hope, these ignorant people will stop. Otherwise, they are going to keep testing our īmān time and again. We have to show our reaction in such a way that, alhamdulillāh, we are still believers. We have to unite ourselves. We have to convey the message of truth.

The Conclusion of the Āyah: The Truthful and the God-Fearing

Wa al-ṣābirīna fī al-ba'sā'i wal-ḍarrā'i wa ḥīna al-ba's — and those who are patient while in poverty, hardship, and at the time of battle. They show patience while they are in the battlefield. They have a challenge, and in these challenges they show their patience.

Then what will happen? Allah says: أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ — they are the ṣādiqūn, the truthful, and they are the muttaqūn, those who have the fear of Allah.

If a person's īmān is stable, his ibādāt are in order, his mu'āmalāt are excellent — unfortunately we are lacking in our mu'āmalāt. Maybe our īmāniyyāt are reasonable, though we have weaknesses — our īmān is not that strong and we need to improve it, for īmān goes higher and lower, it increases and decreases. We have to check our imānī level. We have to improve our mu'āmalāt. And our akhlāqiyyāt — we need to be constantly reminded of our moral conduct.

Closing: The Good Person is the One Who Does Good

My brothers and sisters, check this Quranic āyah — Sūrah al-Baqarah, āyah number 177. These are headlines. And based on these headlines, each topic must be discussed, each topic mentioned in this Quranic āyah we have to learn and implement in our life. The status that we have right now — the missing status of the ummah — the ummah is really going down and down. But once again, if we implement the teachings of the Quran and the teachings of Rasūl, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, in our life, we can regain our status.

But it's not because of just speeches, not just because of sermons and khuṭbahs. This reminds me of one important principle, and let me end with this:

The good person is not the one who speaks good. The real good person is the one who does good. That we have to think about. Just speaking good is not enough. The definition of a good person is the one who does good. We have to do good. We have to follow the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasūl, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. In shā' Allah, Allah will bless us and we will be prosperous in this world and in the life after.

Duʿā' and Closing Supplications

Remember Allah and He will remember you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. Allah knows what you do.

Announcement: Taqwa Seminary

Brothers and sisters, just a quick reminder. There are many organizations, centers, and communities that do not have enough facilities or do not have opportunities to learn. But alhamdulillāh, here we have facilities and opportunities to continue our education — especially Islamic education. The Taqwa Seminary is offering great opportunities: Quranic studies, Arabic, Fiqh, and all other subjects. So those who are not yet enrolled — it is very nominal in fee, at a reasonable time in the evenings, and could be affordable. Those who are not yet registered, please stop by the office. And if you would like to learn further, please contact us. JazākAllāhu khayran.