2015 08 28 Sheikh Khalil Abdul Rashid

The Call to Prayer

اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to Prayer. Come to Prayer. Come to success. Come to success. Allahu Akbar.

Opening: Gratitude for This Community

Dear brothers and sisters, Alhamdulillah for the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon this community. Alhamdulillah for all of the beautiful hearts of the volunteers, the workers, the musallis — those that come to the masjid and pray and volunteer and donate generously to the masjid and support the causes and the activities and the project of this masjid. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept all of it. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that through the good men and women, the good believers that are here — even the children that rise above their call of duty and assist in picking up pieces of paper and display the best etiquette in class — we ask Allah to bless their parents and bless them and bless all of us insha'Allah wa ta'ala as we strive together to continue to make this community a beautiful place and as we strive to continue to elevate the banner of Islam in this country.

The Journey to Allah: Ma'iyya (Being With Allah)

Brothers and sisters, it is time that we begin to talk about and elucidate and digest and analyze and internalize and then practice what is most important regarding journeying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All of life is a journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but there are those of us that realize that from time to time and there are those of us that forget it from time to time. And as we are approaching the time of Hajj, we are approaching a time where we must remember what the journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala requires.

While we have been given tremendous blessings in this community and while this community does profound and amazing and beautiful things, we still have more to do — not necessarily more to do in terms of quantity, but we may have more to do in terms of quality, beauty. And that is what I want to remind myself and all of you about today.

There is this concept of what is called ma'iyya — ma'iyya — from the Arabic term ma'ah, which means "being with." This concept of ma'iyya — being with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — it is not enough just to do what we have been blessed to do in this community. That is good, that is much more than many other communities. Alhamdulillah, we compete in what is good. That is what we do — we compete in what is good. For Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us: compete in good. So we love our brothers and sisters in other communities, but we compete and we love to win. And so we love to do more, push ourselves to give more, to volunteer more, to serve more, to donate more, etc., because Allah loves that. But that concept of ma'iyya — being with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — has specific requirements.

The Final Verse of Surah an-Nahl

And that is what this ayah — which is the last ayah in Surah an-Nahl, the chapter on the honey bee — is talking about, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with those people who display taqwa and with those who demonstrate ihsan:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with them — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with them — because they recognize first that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with them and that they are in the presence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which is why they are people of taqwa in the first place.

Taqwa: The Minimum Standard

You see, people of taqwa constantly are mindful of two major things. Constantly mindful of kufr — rejecting Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — they are very careful about that, and they make sure that they never step foot into that realm: in their actions, in their speech, in their beliefs, in their thoughts, in accepting the unfolding of the destinies that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has willed for them. They make sure that they never reject those things. That's what people of taqwa do — that's the first thing.

And the second thing that they make sure that they guard and protect themselves from is sins. And so they are people of taqwa because they protect themselves from sinning. And if they happen to fall into error, they are very quick to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for atonement and forgiveness for that, and they follow it up with a good deed in hopes that it will be wiped away, and they continue with their actions of righteousness. So that is the bare minimum of whatever one should be doing — people of taqwa.

But then there is a level above that. You see, often times we think of taqwa as the pinnacle, as the goal. Taqwa is not the goal — that is the standard, that is the norm for us. That's the way we have to think. All of us have to be people of taqwa. That's the norm. It's expected that we get up and go to work in the morning or that we feed our children in the afternoon. It must be expected that we hold ourselves to the standard of having taqwa — staying away from kufr, staying away from sins. That's it. Anything less is Islamically uncivilized. We are less than a mu'min — that's not who we are. We have to get to that level. That's the minimum requirement: taqwa.

And by doing those actions we begin to have an awareness and cultivate a mindset that Allah ta'ala is with us. We begin that mindset: "Allah is with me, so I better do that. Allah is with me, so I better do this. Allah is with me, so I better think like this. Allah is with me, so I better not do that." "Allah is with me" — "with me," by the way, means he is watching me. "With me," by the way, means he knows what I am doing. Nothing is physically with me, because Allah ta'ala is far exalted — far exalted from spaces and tashabbuh and resemblances to his creation. And so Allah ta'ala is with me, meaning he is with me in his sifat. Allah ta'ala knows what I am doing. He is aware of what I am doing. He created my decision-making and my actions, and so forth. He rewards me for those good things and holds me accountable and offers punishment for those bad things. That's the bare minimum — every moment we must be like that.

Ihsan: The Higher Level

But then there is a higher level, and that higher level is referenced by the term muhsinun in the ayah — those people of ihsan. Ihsan is a by-product of husn al-khuluq, of character. Khuluq is important because it is the inner jamal — the inner beauty — that a person develops. And that inner character, that inner beauty, then radiates outside, and that person does good behavior. Now that beautiful character that you see in people that have good khuluq, and that beautiful behavior, is a product — is a production or a reflection — of the beauty inside of them.

Now that beauty inside of them is produced because inside of them they see al-Jamal — the most beautiful one — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in his sifat. When they see the world they don't see the world — they see the khaliq of the world. When they see events they don't see events — they see the Creator, the khaliq of those events. Even when they see other things that are beautiful, they don't see those things that are beautiful — they see the maker of what is beautiful. So they see — and I'll use metaphorical language — they see instead of seeing the art, they see the artist. Instead of seeing the khalq, the creation, they see the Khaliq. They rise above and they see beauty — they see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in his sifat, in his af'al, in all of his actions and his attributes as they manifest in the world.

So they see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's work and they want to see his work — they don't want to see anything other than that. So if it's a car accident, they see the Khaliq, the Creator of the car accident. When they turn the water on, they see the Creator of the water as facilitating and producing water — not the water company — and they attribute the presence of the water to the power of the Creator of the water, not to the fact that they pay their water bill. And so khuluq — the character — is cultivated and developed by seeing al-Khaliq, the Creator.

And that's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when he describes the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he says:

That you have an amazing, magnanimous character — because he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, constantly, da'iman, was in a state of witnessing al-Azeem — the Great One himself, tabaraka wa ta'ala.

The Hadith of Ihsan: Mushahada and Muraqaba

And so ihsan is that inner choice and inner action that we choose — to see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in different ways. As the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 50; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8)

Al-Ihsan is an ta'bud Allah ka annaka tarahu — is to function and to be with Allah ta'ala. Literally an ta'bud Allah is to worship Allah, but the meaning is that you're dealing with people and with circumstances and in your transactions ka annaka tarahu — like you see Allah, as if you see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That is called mushahada — dealing with people and the situations and circumstances as though you see Allah ta'ala first, before the circumstance. You see his presence there, in his actions, in his sifat, before the circumstance. That's called mushahada.

Fa in lam taku tarahu — and if you can't witness his presence first, if you can't see his actions first through the qadar that happens, when the qadar unfolds you can't discover him first, if you cannot achieve mushahada — fa innahu yaraak — then know, understand, reach the eventual conclusion that he sees you. That is called muraqaba — to be aware and cognizant and mindful, vigilant, that Allah ta'ala is ever watching us.

So either we see him — mushahada — or we see the fact that he sees us and we realize the fact that he sees us. Both are beautiful. The first is the path and the method of the kibar as-sahaba — the great Companions — mushahada. And the last, the latter — muraqaba — is the path of all of the other awam, the other Companions. And there are ayat of Quran that emphasize and reflect both paths.

So either we witness him first or we come to the realization last that he is watching over us:

Allah ta'ala is ever surveillant over what we do. That is ihsan.

Allah is Beautiful and Loves Beauty

And because of the fact that we see beauty first — Allah ta'ala, one of his names and sifat, is al-Jamal, the Beautiful One — the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 91)

Allah ta'ala is the Beautiful One and he loves beauty. And so we see beauty first — we internalize the beauty of Allah ta'ala first in his af'al, in his qadar — and that affects us and polishes us to be beautiful in our actions as well. And therefore we exert beautiful actions. That's called khuluq. It's also called adab as well.

Are We Beautiful in Our Actions?

Now our actions — as a community, as individuals first, as practitioners first — me, myself first, and we as a community second — we must ask ourselves in the way that we deal with our families, in the way that we deal with our fellow brothers and — for the sisters — our fellow sisters, in the way that we deal with the folks that we know and don't know, and then in the way that we deal with others around us: are we beautiful? Are we beautiful? Of course not in the cosmetic, materialistic, dunyawi way — but are we beautiful in the husn al-khuluq way? Are we beautiful like that? And if we are not, how do we get that way? How do we become beautiful in our actions so that we can be part of this category of groups that Allah is with — muhsineen?

Taqwa is a given — that's where we start. That's not where we end. That's where we start. We start with taqwa, and then we want to get to ihsan. We start with taqwa, and with ihsan — that is our task. That's what Hajj is about. That journey from one position — from the miqat to the bayt. And as we progress from the miqat to the bayt, certain things happen. The rules change a little bit. Things become a little more constricted. Step by step, requirements kick in. As we get closer and closer we have to do a little bit more and more. It comes a little bit harder and harder. But when we reach the bayt — ya salam, when we reach the bayt — ya Latif — it's worth it. It's worth it. And so the prize of Allah being with us is more valuable than anything. That must be our goal.

Practicing the Best: The Concept of 'Azima

Now the best way to do that is through our practice on a daily basis. Our practice on a daily basis must be gradually and gradually more and more in line with the center, the core of what Allah and his messenger have taught — not the edge. I tell our youth sometimes: you know, there's the core of the Quran and the Sunnah of our deen — the core practice. It's called the best practice. It's the area where all of them agree. That's the best thing to do — not the okay thing, not the alhamdulillah thing — it's the best practice from the best. Stay in the middle. That's why we're a middle nation. We stay in the middle. We don't go to the extreme in one way or the other. We don't go to the edge.

I tell our students: don't practice on the edge. There's no sunnah of the Prophet that's on the edge. You can't live your daily life on the edge of Islam. You've got to be in the middle. You've got to be in the core. You've got to be in the center. You've got to be in the wasat. The wasat means to practice the best — the best opinion. When it comes to wudu, make it the best. When it comes to your salat, make it the best. When it comes to your giving, give in the best way. When it comes to your kalam, do it in the best way. When it comes to your da'wah, do it in the best way. When it comes to your representation, the best way. When it comes to your sidq and your amanah and your trust, in the best way. When it comes to your interaction with your brothers and your sisters, interact in the best way.

Give Good News to the 'Ibad

The best: bashir ibad — Allah says: give good news to my ibad. Not my Muslims, not the mu'min — ibad — because the best maqam, the best rutba, the best level that we can achieve is 'ubudiyya — to be an 'abd, a slave of Allah. Not a slave to someone else, not a slave to something else, and not a slave to some place else — a slave to Allah. 'Abd. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: "I am just an 'abd, I am just a slave — that's all I am, that's all I want to be. I eat like a slave eats" — that's why we eat like he eats, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — "and I sit like a slave sits." That's it. My conduct is within the parameter of what Allah allows. That's being an 'abd. So I eat the food that he loves for me to eat. I sit in a position, in a way, with clothes on, and with people that he loves for me to sit with.

For this — bashir ibad — give good news to my ibad. Give them good news. Particularly in the climate we're living in today, we could use some good news. Always trauma in the media today, always stress, fitna, evil — give them something good. Good news.

They are the ones that, when they listen, when they hear advice on what to do and how to do and how to live, when they hear a statement even from the ulama about what you should do and how you should live and how you should act — fayattabi'una ahsanahu — they follow the ahsan, they follow the best. They don't follow the edge. They're not on the periphery. They're in the center. They're in the middle. They follow the best. Fayattabi'una ahsanahu. Those are the ones who have the good news. You want to be a muhsin? Follow the best opinion in terms of your conduct, in terms of your speech. Follow the best.

Ula'ika alladhina hadahum Allah — those are the ones that Allah has guided. Nobody else. Those are the ones Allah ta'ala protects. Those are the ones Allah ta'ala guards. Ula'ika hum ulu al-albab — and those are the ones who are beautiful in their hearts. They are the ones that possess deep, beautiful intellect inside of them. Ulu al-albab — they possess a core inside of them that is beautiful and vibrant and very intellectual, very smart.

The 'Azima: The Strongest and Safest Path

Going back to the beginning — with Allah ta'ala, that he talks about ma' alladhina taqaw — that Allah is with those that start off with taqwa and those that practice ihsan. And in order to get from taqwa to ihsan, the way is to follow the ahsan — the best opinions, the best of our scholarly opinions. We follow the best. Those people that journey like that, they follow the best — the most rigorous, safest position. The safest position. Those are the ones who earn that status of ma'iyya. Those are the ones that get there to ihsan.

You follow the best, and that best in our deen — in the fiqh terms, in the shari'a — that's called the 'azima. The 'azima. The strongest opinion, the safest opinion, the most precautious view, the best view. That's called 'azima. 'Azima means: when you are determined. From 'azm. Allah ta'ala says:

When you are determined to do something, then put your trust in Allah. 'Azima is the strongest view, the safest view, the most precautious view, the best view.

Conclusion: Be People of 'Azima

Brothers and sisters, we must be people of 'azima. The product of that is that we develop ihsan, beauty. We develop the ability to witness beauty — Allah ta'ala in his sifat, in his actions — and then we become beautiful inside, and our actions become beautiful outside. But if we are constantly lagging on the edge, we cannot be beautiful that way, and we will never be people of ihsan that way. And then we will find that we are with ourselves — that we are not really with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

May Allah give us tawfiq to be able to practice the 'azima, to be able to stick with the center of the Sunnah, to be able to follow the best of the qawl of the ulama, to do so in a way that is pleasing to him and him only.

Second Khutbah

الحمد لله رب العالمين، وصلاته وسلامه على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين. أوصي وأوصيكم بتقوى الله.

قال تعالى:

وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

عِبَادَ اللهِ، اتَّقُوا اللهَ. إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ. أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.

Iqama and Prayer

اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ، هَيَّا عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ، هَيَّا عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ، قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ

اللهُ أَكْبَر، سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ