2015 04 10 Friday Prayer Sheikh Mokhtar Maghroui

Opening: Taqwa and Loving Surrender to Allah

Have awe and reverence for Allah in your hearts in a way that is worthy of who He is. Worthy not only of His uncountable favours and bounties, but most importantly worthy of who He is. Worthy of His glory and majesty, worthy of His beauty, worthy of His perfection in His beauty and in His majesty.

And make sure you do not die except in a state of Islam. Except in a state of loving surrender of our souls and spirits, of our hearts and minds, of our words and actions — all in loving, voluntary surrender to Allah.

This is what our life is meant to be. This is the general recipe for happiness in this world and in the hereafter. This is the recipe for freedom and happiness and nobility — in freedom and in happiness, my dear brothers and sisters.

The Inconsistency of the Human Being

Of that we are created as human beings. And some of us — human beings, even Muslims — seem to think we know Allah only under certain conditions, and we forget Him or we deny Him, perhaps, under other conditions.

For example, some of us: when things are going well and prosperous, then we remember Allah and we say Alhamdulillah, and we are fine and we are gentle and we are kind — which is good. But then when the opposite occurs, when we are not as fortunate, when we undergo misfortunes — whether from health to disease, or from strength to weakness, or from wealth to poverty, or from ease to hardships, or even socially from accepted to rejected — we change. And our character changes, and we do not exhibit, we do not show the akhlaq, the norms, the behaviour that Allah loves. We are not as devout, we are not as conscious, we are not as respectful of Allah.

And yet Allah as you know, my dear brothers and sisters, informs us and tells us that is what many human beings are like — and you should not be like that, we should not be like that.

These ayat tell us what I just mentioned a moment ago — amongst human beings in general, and also amongst us as human beings who are Muslims.

Our Character When Faced with Disagreement

Not only when things are going well with me — that I'm good to you and you're good to me. Not only when we don't disagree — that I am polite with you and you're polite with me. What if we have differences? What if challenges happen between us? And we are human beings, and challenges will happen. You tell me, who amongst you — in your own household — did not have challenges? Husband or wife, or children if you're adults.

The worth of a person, of a Muslim, shows not only when things are going well. The worth of a Muslim shows when things are not going so well — disagreement on issues in our household, or in the masjid, or in the community. How come sometimes when those things occur, some of us behave as though we never knew each other? As though there was never love between one another? As though we're not even Muslims? As though there is nothing inside of you and about you that pleases me, for which I have to be respectful?

If my father or my mother disagree with me — when I was young and they were authoritative and disciplinary — does that mean I shall lose respect for them? That occurs, that's natural, because I feel that biological relationship is there. I feel it. But a spiritual relationship with a Muslim is meant to be more powerful — more powerful, more powerful, and more demanding of rights upon me than the biological relationship that I have with someone else, and what I owe in regard to that biological relationship.

How come it is as though there is nothing that links me to you, and I blow up in your face, or you blow up in my face? I raise my voice, I hurt you with my words, I hurt you with my actions. I don't show you the benefit of the doubt. I don't show you kindness, I don't show you forgiveness, I don't show you patience. What are my values when my values do not show when I most need them — and others need them?

Sayyiduna Umar and Knowing a Man's True Character

Many of you know, my dear brothers and sisters, that Sayyiduna Umar, when he asked somebody to be a witness for a case — somebody came and wanted to be a witness on behalf of a litigant — and he asked him: "Do you know him well?" He said: "No." He said: "How do you know him well?" He said: "I have been with him in the masjid. I see him pray and so on." He said: "No, you don't know him well. Have you travelled with him? And in travel — especially long travels — there are disagreements. Have you done business with him? Have you traded with him?" "No." "Then you don't know him well. Have you disagreed with him?" "No." "Then you don't know him well."

If I disagree with you and you disagree with me, and then it shows a vociferous, predatory behaviour on my part or yours — what kind of value do I have? What kind of a Muslim am I? What representation am I for Allah? What khilafah on earth am I exhibiting, what stewardship on earth am I demonstrating for this deen?

The Purpose of Salah, Dhikr, and Worship

After all, as you know my dear brothers and sisters, this deen — salah and dhikr and zakah and du'a — that are essential and most important, are meant to transform our character. They are meant to transform our relationships with Allah at the spiritual and moral level, and our relationships with one another at the moral, ethical, and social levels as well.

Is there nothing that binds me to you? So when I say something that doesn't please you, you are wolves? Is there anything that binds you to me, so that if you say something I am not pleased with, I am a wolf? This is — the editorial "I" and "you," not anyone here or myself — a lesson for us to learn.

Why don't we forgive? Why don't we turn away when somebody is hurting us? Somebody has got to do that. If you say "I have rights," if I say "I have rights," if you say "You owe me respect," and if I say "You owe me respect" and "you cannot talk to me that way" — who is going to exhibit the behaviour of Rasulullah ﷺ? For everything that will be caused — murder, and retribution, and vengefulness, and vindictiveness, and grudge, and spite — when الدِّينُ الْمُعَامَلَةُ — the reality, the essence of the deen is how we interact with one another.

Salah and dhikr and khalwah are meant to help me with that. Of their objectives, of their noble objectives, they are meant to help me at the moment of need — when you blow up into my face, I will respond to you: جَزَاكَ اللهُ خَيْرًا. I will not do the same to you. I fear Allah, and I leave. And follow me if you do, and I leave. And maybe both of us do that — Alhamdulillah, we both understand and leave — and not allow the environment and society and masjid, or our homes, or our workplaces, to be fields of battle.

Love: The Softener of Hearts

Do you love Allah? Let's ask that question. Do you love Allah? Do you love Rasulullah ﷺ?

حُبّ — love — softens. The absence of it roughens and toughens. And my lack of that حُبّ — I may claim it as a word. But حُبّ is not a word. حُبّ is an emotion in the قَلْب. And when it is in the قَلْب, it transforms. الْجَوَارِحُ تُصَدِّقُ أَوْ تُكَذِّبُ مَا فِي الْقَلْبِ — the senses and limbs simply testify to what is inside of me. The حُبّ of Allah, the حُبّ of Rasulullah ﷺ — they soften. It softens the heart. It softens the character.

The Example of the Sons of Adam

The child of Adam — the ancestor of the human beings — and you all know that story. When one brother wanted to kill the other brother, when one sibling wanted to kill the other sibling. Disagreements — حَسَد, envy, and so on. Then the final decision: "I will kill you." He didn't say, "Try it and I'm going to show you," and they started a fight in the sanctified space of where they were. But instead the other one was inspired — Alhamdulillah — to say:

"If you extend your hand or your might to me to kill me, I will not extend my hand and my might to kill you, for I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds."

We should have the majority — at least the majority of Muslims — being like this in our own communities. And there will always be exceptions. But as long as the average is like that, or the majority are like that, then Allah will guard us, Allah will protect us individually and collectively. But when we're not like that, Allah will leave us to ourselves, until we change inside.

Allah will not change the condition of the people until they change that which is inside themselves.

Can we not learn, and practice to learn, and struggle to learn — to say to my brother or my sister, when we differ, and differences will occur: "If you extend your tongue to me to injure me with your tongue, I am not going to extend my tongue to you to injure you. I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds."

We can extend that and say — Alhamdulillah, it's not about killing, though some people are already doing that — وَالْعِيَاذُ بِاللهِ — killing one another, Muslims killing Muslims, in the name of "my way is the only way." Can we not apply that rule and say: "If you extend your tongue to me to injure me with your tongue, I am not going to extend my tongue to you to injure you. I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds."

There is, after all, between you and me, Islam. There is, after all, between you and me, مَحَبَّةُ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ — if I ever had it in my heart. There is between you and me much, much more than the reasons for me to be up against you and desiring the same evil you desire.

We have to do that — each one of us. And please don't take this as sitting and leaving. Take these words from my heart to your heart and apply them at home. If we don't apply them at home, they won't work in the masjid. If we don't apply them in the masjid, they won't work in society. If we don't apply them in society, we will not be like that with Rasulullah. If we will not be like that with Rasulullah, we will not be like that with Allah. There are fields of training — different fields, each field leads to a higher field where we graduate — in terms of what we are and how we conduct ourselves.

Iman and Hasad Cannot Coexist

My dear brothers and sisters, our Prophet ﷺ is related to have said in an authentic hadith:

(Sunan al-Nasa'i, Book 25, Hadith 3109)

"Never shall they be together in the same heart of a servant of Allah — iman, faith, and hasad, envy — violent envy towards someone else." It's in the qalb. Iman and hasad cannot be in the same heart. Who said that? Your beloved ﷺ said that — الَّذِي لَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى — who does not speak on account of his own self. Hasad and iman cannot be in the same heart. If I am in a condition of envy, of hasad — what does that mean by this text? Iman is not there at that moment, under those conditions.

He also said ﷺ:

(Sunan al-Nasa'i, Book 25, Hadith 3110)

Shuh — greed, internal greed — not necessarily greed for money or wealth or power, but greed in terms of wanting for me and only me whatever things are: respect, or power, or wealth, or acceptance, or whatever. If I want that for me and me only, that is shuh. He said: shuh and iman can never be together in the same heart of a Muslim man.

Who is the Best of People?

He ﷺ was asked:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 37, Hadith 4216)

"Who amongst people is best, O Messenger of Allah?" And in other words, who amongst people — of those who are best with Allah — would you tell us about? And he says, when he was asked that question: "Every مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْبِ صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ" — every one who has a swept heart and is most truthful of tongue.

They said, "Ya Rasulallah, صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ we understand — but what is مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْبِ?" The answer is: the best of the best to Allah of human beings, of Muslims, is the one who is مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْب — the one with a makhmum heart — and صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ — a person who is very, very truthful — always and consistently truthful. Doesn't even lie in a joke. صَدُوقٌ — with the sigha al-mubalaghah — in hyperbole. Not just صَادِق, but صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ — in prosperity or in adversity, never lies.

They said: "Ya Rasulallah, we understand صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ — but what is مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْبِ?" Because in Arabic, خَمَمْتُ الْبَيْتَ means "I swept it, I cleansed it, I cleaned it with the broom." So he said ﷺ: "The تَقِيّ" — most of you know the word تَقِيّ from تَقْوَى — the person with taqwa, pious, Allah-conscious — "النَّقِيّ" — clean inside, clean inside.

And he is explaining what is مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْبِ — what is this qalb that is makhmum. تَقِيٌّ — always aware of Allah, always fearing Allah in all his states. نَقِيٌّ — swept from inside, swept inside, pure inside, free inside his heart. How? لَا إِثْمَ فِيهِ وَلَا بَغْيَ — there is no sin in that heart, no transgression, no aggression — no إِثْم and no بَغْي.

And that's why when we harbour transgression and aggression — it takes time and time and time, and when a problem occurs, a disagreement occurs, then we blow out. Because that's what we were hiding all along — إِثْمٌ وَبَغْيٌ. A heart that is not clean, not تَقِيٌّ نَقِيٌّ لَا إِثْمَ فِيهِ وَلَا بَغْيَ.

وَلَا غِلَّ وَلَا حَسَدَ — in addition, that heart is not treacherous and is not envious. غِلّ — when we hold grudges, when we keep them, when we are spiteful, when we are vindictive, when we are vengeful, when we are ill-willed inside of us — غِلّ — something boils inside. And then we leave it there. And when certain conditions occur, then the virus attacks — the virus of ghull attacks. Because you know viruses operate and they become operative depending on the environment in which they are. There are some environments that are conducive for viruses to be operative, and environments that are conducive for viruses to be inoperative. So when the conditions are there, then we react the way we react.

لَا غِلَّ فِيهِ وَلَا حَسَدَ — and no envy. My dear brothers and sisters, هَذَا أَفْضَلُ النَّاسِ — this is the best of people.

Coming to the Masjid to Learn and Change

And we come to the masajid, my dear brothers and sisters — and pray for me and I pray for you, and we pray for each other. We come to the houses of Allah to learn and to change, and to be in the best possible behaviour that we can exhibit in our lives. In the masjid — better than in our homes, better than in our workplaces. And there we learn to be here in the right way, and here we learn to be there in the right way as well.

I seek refuge in Allah and I ask Allah to forgive me, to forgive all of us. Seek Allah's forgiveness, for He is Oft-Forgiving, Oft-Mercifully Loving.

Second Part of the Khutbah: Du'a and Salawat

May Allah grant shifa to every brother and sister and everyone who is in difficulties and in challenges health-wise. May Allah grant them shifa and grant them strength in their hearts, and all of us to be accepting of the qada of Allah. May He, in those moments of trials and challenges with which He in His wisdom challenges us, grant us with that the peace in our hearts — towards that, in prosperity or in adversity. And yet we implore Him for more of His merciful love, for more of His loving mercy, for more of His compassion, for more of His kindness. And with that, to help us be always grateful — grateful, grateful — to Him in our hearts, grateful in our words, and grateful in our deeds.

Servants of Allah, indeed Allah commands justice and excellence and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality and wrongdoing and transgression. He admonishes you so that you may be reminded.

قُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمْكُمُ اللهُ — Rise to your prayer, may Allah have mercy upon you.