2015 11 13 Sheikh Mokhtar Maghroui

The Adhan

اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. Come to prayer. Come to prayer. اللهُ أَكْبَر، اللهُ أَكْبَر

Opening: Taqwa and the Call to Islam

Allah reminds us in his eternal word: O you who have attained faith, be Allah-conscious. Have reverent awe in your hearts for Allah — in a way that is worthy of who He is, worthy of His essence, worthy of His names and attributes, worthy of His beauty and majesty, worthy of His perfection in His beauty and in His majesty, and worthy of the bountiful favours that He incessantly keeps pouring upon us.

My dear brothers and sisters, and we must not die except in a state of Islam — in a state of loving surrender of our spirits and souls, of our hearts and minds, of our words and comportment and deeds, all in loving surrender to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Two Realities: Good and Evil

My dear brothers and sisters, last time I reminded myself and you about the simple reality — that the haqiqa of this world, the reality of this world, can be simplified into a world in which there are two opposites: khayrun wa sharr — good and evil. Or sin and virtue and obedience. Or dhambun wa tahr.

No matter what my occupation may be, no matter how sophisticated I think — or others think — I am about myself or my function or my job, or my activities, religious or mundane, collective or individual, all can be summarized into either khayr or sharr — good or evil. Or can be summarized as dhambun or tahr — sin or virtue or obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

I first want to start here to remind us of the last time when we spoke of the effects of dhunub — of sins in our lives. No matter what my style of life is and no matter what the complexity, as I may perceive it, of my function may be — it is this simple: dhambun or tahr. Sin or obedience. Good or evil.

And that sin or obedience, good or evil — mostly as we must remind ourselves — has to do with the state of our heart. What we are inside. Not what we show outside only. And not what we do outside only — I underline only. But what we are inside most importantly. And I underline inside and most importantly.

For our deen, our faith, is one — as we must remember — that most importantly, the state of our qalb, the condition of our hearts, is paramount. For we are what we are inside of our hearts. Our deeds either conform to what we are inside of ourselves. Those external deeds, whether good or evil — and sometimes even the external deed may appear attractive but is stemming from hearts that are stained and murky and ugly. And that's not good. That's not what Islam is about.

The Example of Sayyiduna Ibrahim — The Father of Islam

Our father, the father of Islam — who is Sayyiduna Ibrahim, alayhi al-salam — the father of Islam, the father of loving surrender to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. As Allah talks about him in the Qur'an:

The millah, the path, the way of your father Ibrahim. It is he who named you Muslim — he was of the first Muslims. That is, those who lovingly surrender their spirits and their souls and their hearts and their minds and their lives to the will of God, to what He loves — and therefore to tawheed and to virtue, and to morality and to ethical behavior, and to beautiful character.

He, alayhi al-salam, — Allah tells us — once said to his people:

He said to his people: "I am going to my Lord." That going here is not going a distance that can be crossed geographically — for God subhanahu wa ta'ala is not in a place on earth. God created space and time and is not confounded to space and time. And going to the Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala is with his heart. The heart moves. The heart's phases change. What we are inside becomes completely focused upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, such that there is nothing we feel — and allow to feel — or attach ourselves to, or allow to be attached to ourselves, and therefore externally to do, that is not linked to what Allah loves.

إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي — in other words, with my heart I'm going to my Lord. In other words, my focus, my pondering, my thoughts, my emotions, my feelings, my drive, my attachment — I'm going to screen all of those and disengage from anything that does not link me to the Divine in my deepest consciousness.

Sit down in a moment and do that — and go to your Lord in your heart. Sit down in a moment and disengage from thoughts and feelings and preoccupations and concerns, and ponder the attributes of God — the Asma' wa Sifat of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Ponder in a moment nothing but what I am inside and how I relate to the Divine and Divine Beauty.

Go to your Lord with your heart, as our father and the father of Islam — alayhi al-salam — went with his heart. As a matter of fact, Allah tells us that's exactly what he did, for He says subhanahu wa ta'ala also in the Qur'an:

His coming was a coming of a heart — with a qalb saleem. When Allah is describing Ibrahim alayhi al-salam, who came to his Lord — إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي, "I am going to my Lord" — here Allah says he came to his Lord with his heart: sound, saleem. Detached and disconnected from vices and immorality and ugliness and transgressions and ill feelings and that which is not worthy of divine qualities.

جَاءَ رَبَّهُ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ — in that qalb there is no ghil, there is no ghish, there is no hiqd, there is no ghadr, there is no khadi', there is no shirk, there is no kibr, there is no tughyan. بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ — there is no envy, violent envy, no hasad. جَاءَ رَبَّهُ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ.

What Is Islam? The Hadith of the Surrendered Heart

And so we must — and so is Islam. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said, when he was asked by one of those who want to learn — and really mean to learn — and says to him: "What is Islam, O Messenger of Allah?" And this is a companion. And he gave him this generic, all-inclusive answer. He says to him — and this is a hadith that is authentic in accordance with the critiques of the texts:

(Musnad Ahmad, authenticated by scholars of hadith)

"Islam is when your heart lovingly surrenders itself to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — your heart surrenders to Allah 'azza wa jall."

And if in my heart — if in your heart, my dear brothers and sisters, if in our hearts there lie characteristics and sifat and attributes that are the ugly, unworthy of the divine attributes — such as violent envy, and arrogance, and delusion, and ostentation, and conceitedness, and self-admiration, and hate, and anger, and injustice, and violent drives, and vindictiveness, and ill feelings, and feeling above others, and demeaning others — if that's in there, then that qalb has not yet surrendered to Allah ta'ala. And that qalb cannot be described as one which has lovingly surrendered itself to Allah 'azza wa jall, as Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam identified what Islam is to be.

يُسْلِمُ قَلْبُكَ — first and foremost and most importantly, that my heart in love and voluntarily surrenders to Allah 'azza wa jall. And surrenders does not only — and I underline the word only — does not only mean external activities that could be nice. And it is good. But if I perform external activities that seem to be good externally, but inside of me I am ugly, my heart has not surrendered to the divine attributes — that is not the Islam.

And consequently, external beautiful action does not necessarily mean a beautiful heart. But a beautiful heart, when it is really beautiful, will engender beautiful external actions — whether they be collective or individual, spiritual or social, political or mundane or religious. When the qalb is beautiful.

And so he says to him: وَأَنْ يَسْلَمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ لِسَانِكَ وَيَدِكَ — and he continues to tell him: "And therefore, consequently, that people and Muslims are safe from your tongue and your might" — your hand, signifying your might, your power, your resources, your abilities, your strength, whatever sources of power you have. When people — and Muslims in particular also — are safe from your tongue and what you write and what you say and how you speak, and from your power — that is Islam. The Islam of Ibrahim alayhi al-salam. The Islam of Sayyid al-'Alamin, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Who Is the Best of People? The Hadith of Makhmoum al-Qalb

That's why he also said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — when he was asked again by one who wants to learn:

(Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Zuhd, Hadith 4216; also reported in Musnad Ahmad)

"O Messenger of Allah, who is the best of people — of human beings?" — and this hadith is also authentic. He said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: "Every makhmoum al-qalb, sadooq al-lisan."

Many of you who know the Arabic language understand the second part. But I know you didn't understand the first part — and that's absolutely normal, because the companions themselves said, radi Allahu ta'ala 'anhum: صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ نَعْرِفُهُ فَمَا مَخْمُومُ الْقَلْبِ؟ — they inquired: "O Messenger of Allah, we know what sadooq al-lisan means" — a person who is always beautifully, constantly truthful, never utters a semblance of a lie, let alone a lie, even when joking. Sadooq — with the hyperbole form in language. Sadooq al-lisan.

The best and the most virtuous — he mentioned two things. The first: makhmoum al-qalb. The second — which I am emphasizing, which we all know but we pray that you all practice: sadooq al-lisan. With the child and with the adult. In prosperity or in adversity. When I do good or when I do wrong — to speak the truth, even if it were against me.

If you are speeding and the officer catches you — don't lie to avoid a ticket. Speak the truth, admit and apologize, and don't do that again. Don't lie to a child — your son or your daughter — even jokingly. Sadooq al-lisan. That's a long discourse.

Explaining Makhmoum al-Qalb

The first part — they said, "What does makhmoum al-qalb mean, ya Rasool Allah?" Those who don't know some advanced vocabulary in the Arabic language would not know what makhmoum is. So he said: التَّقِيُّ النَّقِيُّ، الَّذِي لَا إِثْمَ فِيهِ وَلَا بَغْيَ وَلَا غِلَّ وَلَا حَسَدَ.

And those that he mentioned — I believe that it was meant to teach us essentials, not necessarily to list everything and be exhaustive in the listing, but just as examples of what he means sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

So he says: makhmoum al-qalb is the one whose heart is taqiyy — God-conscious — and therefore is in a state of taqwa, is on guard. Taqwa — from waqa, yaqi — is on guard. Does not allow into the heart that which Allah does not love. The screen is tawheed. The screen is tawheed. The screen are the names and attributes of Allah 'azza wa jall. Nothing is accepted unless it is screened through the attributes of God that should embellish that heart because of tawheed.

Al-taqiyy al-naqiyy — naqiyy meaning purged and cleansed and clean. There is no stain in it. And therefore he explains: الَّذِي لَا إِثْمَ فِيهِ — in which there is no ithm. No intent of aggression. No intent of oppression. No intent of violations of the norms divine, and of the rights of the creatures of the divine. Ithm is anything wrong that violates the norms of the divine and that violates the divine rights of the creatures of the divine. لَا إِثْمَ فِيهِ — there is no ithm in that heart. SubhanAllah.

وَلَا بَغْيَ — al-baghy also is al-i'tida' 'ala al-nas wa 'ala huquq al-nas. In which there is no baghy — in other words, there is also no intent and no momentum towards violating the rights of others, whether inside of that heart indeed, and therefore through a word or even an expression of my face. Sometimes I could look at some person — frowning unjustly, unkindly — that's baghy of the subtle kind. I cannot do that. Allah knows even the glance for a second that I turn towards one, and was it kind or not, and I have to account for that — let alone beating somebody, let alone stealing the property of somebody, let alone killing somebody, let alone hurting somebody. In a qalb in which there is no baghy.

وَلَا غِلَّ — there is no vindictiveness, no harboring of vindictive feelings towards another person and another creature of Allah 'azza wa jall. No ghil. Those of us who — there is something inside that stirs the emotions and that moves people to do things that are wrong, and to say things that are wrong, and to hurt each other, and to violate the rights of others, and to speak loud and to yell — let alone worse than that. Ghil. Unforgiving. Hateful. Vindictive.

وَلَا حَسَدَ — nor is there in it any hasad. Hasad you translate, most of you, as jealousy — that's not good enough. Hasad is an internal drive of envy for what someone else is or has, but that envy is a violent type of envy — not a gentle kind of desire for something good, but an internal violent drive, internally wanting it violently. Hasad — why does he or she have what I don't, whether in worldly matters or spiritual matters or whatever it may be?

This is — he said — the best of people. A qalb makhmoum: cleansed, purged from all those things.

First Closing: Seeking Forgiveness

My dear sisters and brothers — أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ. Seek the forgiveness of Allah. Allah is Loving, Merciful and Forgiving. طُوبَى لِلْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ. أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ.

Second Khutbah: Watchfulness of the Heart

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى، وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى، اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدٍ الْفَاتِحِ لِمَا أُغْلِقَ وَالْخَاتِمِ لِمَا سَبَقَ، نَاصِرِ الْحَقِّ بِالْحَقِّ وَالْهَادِي إِلَى صِرَاطِكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَمِقْدَارِهِ الْعَظِيمِ.

My dear brothers and sisters, I close with this — to remind myself first and then you. And we implore Allah to help us to be of those who listen to the words of admonition and follow the best of them. We implore Allah to open the hearing channels of our hearts to what He loves of words and meanings subhanahu wa ta'ala, and to grant us the strength to live by those.

The Saying of Ibn 'Ata'illah

One of the Salihoon, rahimahu Allahu ta'ala — Sayyid Ibn 'Ata'illah — said, rahimahu Allahu ta'ala:

You can memorize it as this: مَنْ رَاقَبَ اللَّهَ فِي الْخَطَرَاتِ عَصَمَهُ اللَّهُ فِي الْحَرَكَاتِ. He or she who is mindful and aware and watchful of the moods inside his or her heart — on guard — the one who does that consistently, Allah 'azza wa jall will protect such a person in the external movements. That is, the way I am going to use my eyes, the way I am going to use my tongue, my ears, my hand, my power — the way I am going to use them externally — Allah shall protect me in that. In other words, I will look at only what He permits and loves. I will listen to what He permits and loves. I will speak what He permits and loves. I will do, I will act that which is beautiful only, which He loves subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And that's because of His merciful grace and protection subhanahu wa ta'ala — as a reward to my striving, to our striving, to keep our hearts on guard: alert, watchful.

That requires a lot of work. A lot of energy — to be watchful inside of us. I repeat, whether my function is a politician or a judge or a housewife or a blue collar worker or an engineer or a doctor or an activist or a teacher or an imam or a scholar or a student or a preacher or a da'ia — no matter what, man or woman, young or old — what counts most importantly and what guides is what I have and you have in your hearts. And therefore we must be active in watching what is allowed into our hearts and what comes out of our hearts.

والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.

Du'a

Let the most blessed of moments and the most joyous of moments be the moment which shall come to you — the meeting with your Lord. And Allah — rise for your prayer, may Allah have mercy on you.

The Iqamah and Salah

اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ، قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ، قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ.

Straighten your rows, may Allah have mercy on you. Straighten. Straighten. Guard your hearts.

Recitation in Salah — Surah al-Fatihah

Recitation — Surah al-Jumu'ah

Recitation — Surah al-Ikhlas

اللهُ أَكْبَرُ. سَمِعَ اللهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ. اللهُ أَكْبَرُ. اللهُ أَكْبَرُ. السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ. اسْتَغْفِرِ اللهَ. اللهُ أَكْبَرُ. اللهُ أَكْبَرُ. السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ. بَارَكَ اللهُ.