EPIC Masjid, Sheikh Monzar Taleb, Ethics and manner of Dawah.

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we ask His help, we ask His guidance, and we ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whosoever He misguides, none will find for him a rightful guardian.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. He is the First, and there is nothing before Him. And He is the Last, and there is nothing after Him. He is the First, and the Last, and the Outer, and the Inner, and He is the Knower of all things. He knows what enters the earth and what comes out of it, and what descends from the sky and what ascends into it. And He is with you wherever you are, and Allah sees what you do.

And I bear witness that our Master, and our Prophet, and our Leader, and our Role Model, and our Beloved, Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. He delivered the message, and fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah, and left it on the white platform — such that no one leaves it but the one who is destroyed. The blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, and upon his family and his companions, who were truly messengers of mercy, and leaders of guidance, and guides of justice. They helped the religion of Allah, and Allah helped them. And they strengthened the religion of Allah, and Allah strengthened them.

Brothers and sisters of Islam, I advise myself and you to fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, as He ordered us in the Qur'an:

When you believe in Allah and speak the truth and be on the right path, He will fix your matters and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and the Prophet, he is among those who are successful. I ask Allah for us to be successful in this life and the hereafter.

A Word on the Suffering of the Ummah

Brothers and sisters, before I start my khutbah, I have to say a few words about what is happening in Syria, and what is happening all over the world — the suffering of the Muslims in Burma and anywhere else. I am talking about Syria because you have seen the news, and you have seen the atrocities of the government killing innocent people. Up to today more than 30,000 have been killed, more than half a million are already missing, and more than 3 million have been displaced around Syria.

Today I am not going to talk about Syria at length, but I have to mention it — because this is my duty as a Muslim, to take care and worry about the affairs of the Muslims. As the Prophet said:

Whoever does not care about the matters of the Muslims, he is not among them.
(Al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; narrated by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman)

I see a lot of people when they give khutbahs as if they are living in a la-la land — they don't live in the Muslim world, they don't live in any land. They just talk about a subject as if nothing exists, as if everything is beautiful on the face of the earth, not mentioning what is happening nor making du'a for our brothers and sisters everywhere they are suffering. May Allah give victory to those who are oppressed.

Also, locally here — a brother handed me a note and I have to share it with you. About those who are sick and were not able to make it to our community — they are in the hospital. This includes Sister Farah, the daughter of brother Qais al-Ahmadi. She collapsed, subhanAllah, last Friday. Her lungs collapsed — it started as what seemed like a normal issue of pneumonia, but she ended up on life support. She is on life support right now in the hospital. Please, brothers and sisters, pray for those who are sick in our Ummah. Make du'a to Allah to give them victory and grant them shifa.

O Allah, bless all of us, Ya Rabb al-'alameen. Brothers and sisters, don't forget the fundraiser for Syria tomorrow. The children of Syria are giving their lives. Families are being killed every day — not individuals, but entire families. Nine members of one family, just yesterday — the father, the mother, the children, the cousins — all killed completely. So brothers, spare some time for those brothers and sisters who are giving their lives for their freedom, for the sake of Allah. May Allah give them victory.

The Qur'an as a Source of Guidance

Brothers and sisters, the Qur'an is full of surprises. The Qur'an is full of educational material. The Qur'an is the guidance, and Allah said it is a guidance for all humanity — for those who are righteous. It is a field for obligation, a field for education. Whether you want to learn about science, history, geography — anything you want — it is in the Qur'an.

But today, I want to take only one element from this ocean of guidance, which is the ethics, the manners, and the attitude of doing da'wah.

The Ethics and Manners of Da'wah

Allah said in so many places in the Qur'an:

We have sent our messengers with nothing but the tongue of their people — with the language of their people — so they can explain to them.

And in another ayah, Allah said:

He put wisdom before the good advice, before the knowledge. Because brothers and sisters, if we have the knowledge but don't know how to deliver that knowledge, then it will actually be more negative than positive. There are a lot of people who have knowledge but unfortunately don't know how to articulate it, how to say it, how to deliver it to people.

And the Prophet said in the hadith:

Wisdom is the lost property of the believer; wherever he finds it, he is most deserving of it.
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2687)

We look for wisdom. And if we find it, we take it.

And Allah also said:

This is my way. We don't change. We are not like lizards changing our colors wherever we go — if the surroundings are red, we become red; if green, we become green. No. This is my way. Everything is clear in the Qur'an — there are no codes, nothing hidden. I call with knowledge, with understanding, with sure knowledge. Deliver to the people even one ayah, but at least understand the basics of that ayah.

Allah is telling us that we have to understand the community that we are living in. Not to live in a cocoon and hide from the community, but to be out there — just as the Prophet was mingling with everybody when he was in Mecca — with the Kafir, with the Mushrik, with everybody. He was there, mingling with them, teaching them about Islam, calling people to Islam. This is how Islam spread, brothers and sisters.

Islam Is on Trial — The Challenge of Our Time

We are living in a very challenging time where Islam is on trial. Not Muslims — Islam is on trial. Islam was put in the cage; Muslims are set free, running around — but Islam is the one that is in the cage.

They say, "Fear is the enemy of knowledge." They also say, "Ignorance is a bliss." But I say: ignorance is not a bliss — ignorance is a disaster. Allah says:

Are they equal — those who know, and those who don't know?

When you create fear, people will stop learning. After September 11th, a lot of bookshelves were empty — empty of the Qur'an, of the meaning of the Qur'an, of the English translation. If you went to websites, they were on back order. It is true. People outside this masjid want to know: What are we facing? Who are these people? Where did they come from? Why are they attacking us? Why do they want to kill us? A lot of people don't know anything about Islam or about Muslims. Why? Because we are not delivering the message. We are shying away from delivering the message to the people.

Although the Qur'an was missing from the shelves, 120 books were written against Islam. One hundred and twenty books. Some of the titles I have seen: Under the Veil — what is under it? Inside the Mosque — what's inside? Religion of Peace? — with a question mark, an exclamation mark. Before, people used to criticize Islam and we had the answers. But now it is no longer criticism — now it is prejudice, and hatred is being spread against Islam and Muslims.

Building Trust Before Da'wah

Brothers, we cannot do da'wah when we are in a hostile environment. When people are afraid of you, you cannot make da'wah. You have to let people trust you first. Your actions will show that, brothers and sisters.

I had an episode — one time we had an open house. A lady came to the open house in Irvine. I greeted her and said, "How can I help you?" She said, "For 10 years I have been passing by your mosque on my way to work — back and forth, every day, morning and evening. For 10 years I always wanted to get inside. But I was scared. And one day I saw an open house, and I saw people like me going inside the mosque, so I felt secure — and I came in."

And then I said, "What did you find?" One of the questions they asked, wallahi I am telling you this: "Where is the area in your mosque where you do the sacrifice? There is definitely a place where you bring the camels, the cows, and you sacrifice these animals. Where is it?" I said, "You know what? It's in the dungeon." Nobody laughed at first. Then I said, "People, this is a joke — do we really have a dungeon? A place to sacrifice animals?" Everybody started laughing after that.

But you see how it is in the minds of people — how they see Muslims and Islam. Why? Because we are not open to the public. We are not telling them who we are. And then she told me, "I think I was wrong — and you are wrong too." I said, "How?" She said, "I was wrong to assume things about you. And you were wrong because you did not explain things to me. You did not come out of the masjid. You confined yourself inside the mosque and did not tell people."

Trust is the key to explain knowledge, to make people feel free, to make them feel safe. This is the reality of the matter. And Allah said:

The Prophet's Example at Hudaybiyyah

At the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, when Quraysh came out to fight him while he was going without swords to enter the Ka'bah, the Prophet said:

"Woe to Quraysh! War has consumed them."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2731–2732)

Look who is saying this — they claim that Muhammad started the war, yet he himself said, "Oh Quraysh, war has killed them. They think only about war." And then he said:

"By Allah, if they call me to anything that will honor the sanctities of Allah and connect kinship, I will come forward and meet with them."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2731)

This, brothers and sisters, is what the Prophet has taught us. And again, Allah says:

We have created you, oh people, from nations and tribes so that you may know one another. And remember what I said in the beginning — قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي — this is my way; I am not changing it. But you want to come and talk, you are most welcome. We can talk, debate, and keep talking until we find the truth and come toward the truth. May Allah guide us to the truth.

I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, who guided us to this — and we would not have been guided if Allah had not guided us. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon this noble Prophet, the possessor of a merciful heart, and upon his family and companions, the pious and righteous.

Lessons from the Companions in Da'wah

The world was changed with words — starting with the Prophet, with the Anbiya, and with those who followed. Consider someone like Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. He was a companion and cousin of the Prophet, and he was put in front of the king of Abyssinia — a king who could kill them with one word or spare them with one word. With all that at stake, he had to stand before the Abyssinian king and speak. They had never done that before; they had never had the ability to speak in front of kings.

But Ja'far ibn Abi Talib said: "We will tell him what our Prophet told us — whatever happens to us, we will tell the truth." But you also have to choose what to say. When he stood in front of the Abyssinian king, he did not recite al-Fatihah. In fact, one sister who later became Muslim said, "Before I became Muslim, when I recited al-Fatihah, I got scared — I wasn't ready at that time yet." Even though al-Fatihah begins with الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds — she said, "I was scared. I closed the Qur'an. And then later, when I read it again, I found the truth."

So what did Ja'far recite? Just a month before the migration to Abyssinia, Allah had revealed Surah Maryam. So he recited Surah Maryam — something that related to them. You have to know how to relate to people's lives.

Zayd ibn Thabit and Learning Languages

Similarly, the Prophet asked, "Who would learn the Hebrew language? I need to communicate with the Jews in Medina — I want to know what they are saying." Zayd ibn Thabit went for 18 days and learned the language — how to read and to write. He came back and told the Messenger of Allah, "I know how to read and to write." Why? Because you have to communicate with people.

Abu Bakr's Words at the Passing of the Prophet

Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him — the scholars said that among the people whose words most steadied the believers was Abu Bakr, because of how he spoke to the people after the Prophet's passing. He said:

"Whoever worshipped Muhammad, then indeed Muhammad has died. And whoever worships Allah, then indeed Allah is Ever-Living and will never die."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3668)

Why do I say all of this? Because we must choose our words wisely. We must choose the right time to deliver. We must choose the audience to whom we speak.

Equipping Ourselves to Answer Today's Questions

The first word revealed in the Qur'an was Iqra'. We are the Ummah of Iqra'. Knowledge is power, but we need to know how to deliver it.

The challenge is still there, brothers and sisters. One time Sheikh Nadim mentioned that he was going to hold a program for the youth — about the challenges they face in their schools and colleges. One of those challenges: when our children are asked, "If God created everything, then who created God?" There are a lot of atheists around us. Children in schools ask these questions to our children. Our children come home and say, "I don't know — let me go ask the Sheikh." We need to know the answers to these questions.

Why does God want us to praise Him? Why has God sent people to Hell while He created them? Why did God create Hellfire? And then they say: "Muhammad was killing people, while Jesus was saving them." How would you answer that question? Do we have an answer? Yes, we do. There is always an answer, brothers and sisters, for all questions. But you need knowledge — and knowledge is the secret.

And then there are questions from those around us: "Why does Islam teach hate?" "Why does a woman have to wear hijab — is that not oppression?" "Are women equal to men in Islam?" "Why does Islam prohibit homosexuality?" "Why did terrorists attack us? Why does the Qur'an encourage terrorism?" These questions are out there. People ask these questions.

The Islamic Speaker Bureau

There are 170 of these questions addressed, brothers and sisters. I saw this last weekend when I was attending the seminar and certification program of the Islamic Speaker Bureau. The Islamic Speaker Bureau was created through the Islamic Networks Group to teach and to do outreach to those outside our community — to go to colleges, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, law enforcement agencies, health agencies, and organizations — to talk to them and say: "You have these questions, we have answers." More than 170 questions are covered in the book we received when we received our certification. You learn the proper, truthful answer. We are not lying to people — we give them the true and right answers. That is how we need to learn, brothers and sisters.

They are doing these presentations to all kinds of agencies, running certifications — which I encourage all of you to take. And by the way, it is free. The cost of each presentation otherwise would be $500. Yet while we are sitting in our masajid enjoying our lives, they are out there doing the representations.

Spending for the Sake of Da'wah

Brothers and sisters, da'wah requires sacrifice. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "When I became Muslim, I had 50,000. When the Messenger of Allah died, I had only 5,000." Meaning he spent all his wealth in the way of da'wah. Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, did the same — spending everything she had for the da'wah of Allah.