20160506 - First Khutba - Sheikh Mokhtar Maghroui

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَسْتَهْدِيهِ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمَّا بَعْدُ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْكَلَامِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَخَيْرَ الْهُدَى هُدَى سَيِّدِنَا وَمَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

O you who have attained faith — be Allah-conscious, have awe and reverence in your souls, in your hearts, and in your minds for Allah in a way that is worthy of who He is: worthy of His essence, worthy of His names and attributes, and worthy of His bounties and favours upon us. And make sure we do not die except in a state of Islam — in a state of loving surrender of our spirits, souls, hearts, minds, words and deeds, all in loving surrender to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Ya Allah, please open the healing channels of our hearts to that which reminds us of You.

The Warning Against Istidraj

O servants of Allah, as one of the righteous once said:

خَفْ مِنْ وُجُودِ إِحْسَانِهِ إِلَيْكَ وَدَوَامِ إِسَاءَتِكَ مَعَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ اسْتِدْرَاجًا لَكَ

Be afraid. Be cautious. Beware — when you observe the continuous goodness and benevolence from Him subhanahu wa ta'ala, from God, from Allah, to you, while you continue in your transgression with Him — beware that that could be an entrapment to you, an istidraj. As Allah azza wa jal says:

And We entrap them from ways they do not pay attention to. Those of us — and we all do enjoy God's favors, bounties, and benevolence, ihsan and rahmah, as He continues to shower that upon us — and some of us continue to transgress upon our relationship with Him: through violating His rights upon us, or violating the rights of others, other creatures, other fellow human beings, and other fellow Muslims. As we continue to do that, beware that that be an istidraj.

The Inward and Outward Bounties of Allah

The second point: when you observe that you are in obedience of Allah azza wa jal and that He subhanahu wa ta'ala made you one who is in obedience of Him — know that He has showered upon you His bounties inward and outward. As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Do they not ponder and see that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created and made available to them what is in the heavens and on earth, and made accessible and available to them His bounties, His ni'am, inward and outward — the bounties of Allah, inwardly inside of us and outside of us?

So, rahimahullah ta'ala, when you observe that you are in obedience of Allah azza wa jal, and that He subhanahu wa ta'ala made you one who is in obedience of Him, and at the same time you feel self-sufficient — ghaniyyun bihi — not with your ta'a, not with your obedience, but conscious of Him and reliant upon Him and not upon your obedience — if He grants you both obedience actually and factually, and at the same time an awareness that you know that that obedience is from Him as a gift and you do not rely on it inside of you but rely on Him — you are rich by Him, not by your obedience. If you are like that: obedient, and aware that that obedience is a gift from Him, not an act on your part independently from Him — then know that He has given you both gifts: inward and outward, internal and external.

The Three Dimensions of This Deen: Iman, Islam, and Ihsan

My dear brothers and sisters, this deen is about Iman, Islam, and Ihsan.

Iman — The Pillars of Faith

Iman — which you all know theoretically:

أَرْكَانُ الْإِيمَانِ سِتَّةٌ: الْإِيمَانُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ كُلُّهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ

This iman — this faith, this internal awareness, this internal consciousness, this internal certitude, this internal knowledge that you have about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala: His being and His being One; about the angels, the existence of the angels in all space, time, and beyond; the existence of the fact that God communicated — Allah, this One, this existence, this being — communicated through the angels to human beings, and therefore there are messages, kutub, and messengers, rusul; to know that we are held to account in a world, in a dimension beyond this one — الْيَوْمُ الْآخِرُ — and to know that everything that occurs in space, time, and beyond, in all dimensions of existence, all of that is decided and known by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and nothing occurs in this space, time, and beyond without His knowledge, without His will subhanahu wa ta'ala.

This is iman. To know that and to live in this reality, to be conscious of this reality. This is where I am. To know first of all: where am I? In which existence? What is this existence in which I am? This is always to be in our hearts and minds. This is the context, the environment, the reality in which we are. The world is this — existence is this — and I am in this as a Muslim.

Islam — Loving Surrender and the Pillars of Practice

Islam — then in this reality I perform salah, establish zakah, perform sawm, and perform hajj, and before that, declare with my tongue لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. The reality of iman — this is where I am. The first act of ibadiyyah to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this existence is to utter that which I know exists by the concept of iman — al-imanu billah. My first act is: I speak — أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. This is the first act of ibadiyyah in this reality, in this environment, in this context, in this existence of which I know, of which I am aware.

And it is in this reality that I perform salah — my second act of ibadiyyah to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I owe Him ibadiyyah on account of His rububiyyah, on account of who He is, on account of His lordship, and on account of His attributes and His names. Who He is — He is all beautiful; all His names and attributes are beautiful and He is all majestic, subhanahu wa ta'ala. In that knowledge I show my ibadiyyah, and that first act of salah — the five obligatory daily regular salawat — gives me an opportunity to be alone with Allah azza wa jal, to be in retreat, to be in khalwah, to have quality time, to ponder what I know, and where I am going, and what I am doing, and what I have done.

Salah is an opportunity for khalwah — retreat, quality retreat with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Not a hurried type of activity, not a superficial, mechanistic type of activity, but an activity of deep reflection and of pondering my relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala: what I am doing in this world, why I am in this world, what I am saying, to evaluate my actions, and also to project into the next future — the next second and minute and hour and days — the way I should feel and the way I should behave, to listen to the moods inside of me.

For if I do not spend quality time alone in khalwah, I will never discover what I am inside — good or bad — and therefore I will never improve. My iman will always be weak or non-existent, and the fruitful consequences of iman — such as beautiful character inside of me — I will never develop. Because I need to be silent to listen to audible sounds, physical sounds, to distinguish the different sounds and noise outside, and therefore I need to be silent inwardly to listen to the moods inside of me. And the moods inside of me are my akhlaq — my character.

Rasulullah ﷺ said, for instance, that they cannot be together in the same heart of a servant of Allah azza wa jal — iman (faith) and hasad (violent envy). In other words, first of all, if there is hasad inside of me, in my qalb, that means iman is not there. And if there is true iman inside of me, there will be no hasad. And hasad is something inside of me — it is an attitude, it is a character, it is a silent sound inside of me. If I do not spend quality time to listen to the moods and the sounds inside of me, I will never discover in reality my reality of being a hasud — I am a hasud but I have never discovered that, because I have never listened to what I am inside. I have never had quality retreat, quality khalwah, to listen to what I am inside versus what I claim to be outside. If I don't do that, I won't discover that.

Salah is a retreat. Quality salah is a retreat with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to discover what I am inside and to improve upon that. Salah is many, many other beautiful things.

And zakah — zakah yuzakki — the second or third pillar of Islam — zakah, the very meaning of which involves purging and cleansing and polishing and embellishing and adorning and beautifying, from tazkiyah. I liberate and I cleanse and I polish and I purge my mind, my heart, my soul, and my life from the addiction and the slavery to wealth, money, and power — to which most human beings are slaves. That teaches me to be liberated inside. Inside of me I don't want to share, to give, and to be charitable — I want to keep, I want to accumulate. Allah azza wa jal wants me to be liberated from that. Because with that attitude, with that tightness inside, I cannot be closer to Him. I cannot discover His beauty. I am not liberated. I am chained. I have those attachments that take place inside of my heart, and then the attachment for Allah is absent, because my heart is already full with those connections and those attachments and those drives. And Allah wants to liberate you — to liberate us — from that, by giving, despite the fact that inside I don't want to. You must, to be liberated. You must, to be muzakka. You must, to be worthy of ultimately being in His presence, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Zakah liberates.

We are entering the month of Ramadan soon — in a day or two will be the month of Sha'ban, to introduce us and prepare us for the month of Ramadan. Remember the many virtues of the month of Sha'ban as a lead month to Ramadan — remember that first, and we will talk more about that in the future, bi iznillah. And in that context, many Muslims, alhamdulillah, begin to be mindful of their rukn of zakah, to establish the zakah of their possessions. This Saturday — tomorrow after Dhuhr, insha'Allah ta'ala — we will have a seminar to address hopefully all the questions you have pertaining to zakah, and to learn about the fiqh of zakah: the external fiqh and the spiritual dimensions of zakah as well — tomorrow right after Dhuhr until Asr time, bi iznillah ta'ala.

Sawm — fasting — is a means by which to be liberated and to express that ubudiyyah to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Salah is giving space and time to Allah azza wa jal: no space, no time, no occupation stops me from being aware of Allah azza wa jal. So I respond — and Allah puts it in five different times throughout the day, at different times — so that no concern of time possesses me. I am free from time to Him azza wa jal. I am free from anything of time — to Him azza wa jal I respond. Time and space belong to Him.

No matter what I am doing — and likewise, my body now, my zakah, my money, my wealth, my power, to which I have a strong attachment — as part of my ubudiyyah, in the context of iman, my awareness of His existence and the arkan of iman, I act in this way to liberate my heart and my mind from possession and power and attachment. And now sawm — my attachment to eating and drinking and copulating — so He tells me and teaches me to be liberated from that. No amount of food, no desire for food and for drinks, for sleep, for intimate relationships with the other gender in marital relationships — none of that possesses me. I learn to be liberated from that in my relationship with Him subhanahu wa ta'ala. My body and the needs of my body do not enslave me, do not take me away from Allah azza wa jal.

And so also hajj — my desire for prosperity, my desire for ease, my desire for comfort must not stop me. For I go and perform hajj, and hajj is filled with challenges and difficulties and discomfort and hardships, and I am to be a loving abd of Allah in hardship and in prosperity. No legitimate desire for comfort and prosperity is going to stop me from going to Allah azza wa jal with my heart and with my mind. So I perform the physical trip and journey away from my physical home and my physical family to the house of Allah azza wa jal — demonstrating that I am willing, and inside of me I give up, in my heart and in my mind, everything. I move inside of me from the home of my nafs away to the house of Allah azza wa jal, and away to Allah.

This is the context of Islam — the Islam in the context of Iman. So Islam is to be obedient to Allah in the context of knowing the reality in which I am: Iman — Allah, the angels, the books, the messengers, the Last Day, al-qadar. That is the reality in which I now obey Allah azza wa jal, knowing it and being aware of it. So what I do must be in the context of knowing and being aware of those — which we call Arkan al-Iman.

Ihsan — Worshipping Allah as Though You See Him

Then what is Ihsan? Ihsan therefore is to be obedient to Allah azza wa jal — not merely with the knowledge of the Arkan al-Iman — but with being as though you see those arkan. Obeying Allah, living in this life, performing salah, zakah, sadaqah, sawm, hajj, dhikr, du'a, interaction with the creatures of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — humans and others — all of that done not only while being aware of the Arkan al-Iman, not only while being aware of this existence, but while being as though I see that — living my life as though I see God, as though I see the angels, as though I see the world of the hereafter, as though I see the Wahi, as though I see the messengers.

So that is the difference: to live as a Muslim in the context of the reality of Iman — or to live as a Muhsin in the context of the reality seen of Iman. This is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala offers us, and this is what we need to pursue, and this is what I and you should implore Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for.

Life — all of it, with all its specifics and generals, with all its complexities and simplicities — all of it is this. There is nothing left outside of this framework. Whatever I choose to do, remember the context in which we do things and how we do things: we do them as a Muslim or as a Muhsin — of course, otherwise as a kafir. A kafir is one who denies that reality, that existence — he denies it and he denies to be subservient and lovingly subservient and obedient to the reality of the Divine, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

I say this and I ask forgiveness of Allah for me and you — so ask forgiveness of Him. For those who ask forgiveness, please seek the forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What an excellent abode awaits those who sincerely seek obedience from Him, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Ask forgiveness of Allah. Ask forgiveness of Allah.

Second Part of the Khutbah

Alhamdulillah. My beloved brothers and sisters — as I remind myself and you — I implore of you, insha'Allah ta'ala, to be mindful, to be a person who makes himself or herself ready inside to receive. Do not allow ourselves to be of those who listen to words of admonition and close the ears of our hearts and close the ears of our souls and close the ears of our minds. Those of us who do that — I am afraid that that is a sign of kibr, a sign of arrogance. Allah does not have hubb — love — for those who are like that.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help me and you to free first the ears of our hearts, to hear with our hearts and to listen with our hearts to that which reminds us of Him subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And remember, as I began my address to you — we must be very cautious and aware: if we are finding ourselves enjoying so many favors in this world at all levels — not only at the material level, but also security, peace, and freedom — and we continue to have them, and yet many of us continue to disobey Him and continue to do wrong in our relationship with Him and in our relationship with His creatures — do not think that because we have those ni'am, those favors, that Allah is favoring us. That could be an istidraj:

For when His favors upon us are so many and we continue to disobey Him and to violate His rights — vis-à-vis Himself subhanahu wa ta'ala and vis-à-vis His creatures — that could be simply, in the divine sense, an entrapment. In other words, a way by which we are punished in this dunya without realizing it, thinking we are favored — because we are not fulfilling the obligations upon that ennoblement and that special honor that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bestowed upon us.

لِأَنَّ مَعَ كُلِّ تَشْرِيفٍ تَكْلِيفًا — because with every favor from Allah of bestowing nobility and honor upon us, that entails responsibility. And that responsibility first is to watch — in your heart and mine — to be lovingly surrendering to Him azza wa jal, and externally to live, as we said, as a Muslim, or better yet as a Muhsin, bi iznihi azza wa jal.

With this, we must not forget those who asked us to pray for them — those who are suffering, those who are in pain, individually or collectively, anywhere on this planet, anywhere in this existence — and to implore Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bestow upon us and upon them more of His kindness and mercy and favors, and make us and them grateful to Him subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Du'a

Closing

قُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ بَارَحَمَكُمُ اللَّهُ