Let us Believe For a Moment | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Sh. Yaser Birjas

Let Us Believe For a Moment

A statement was reported from Abdullah ibn Rawaha, may Allah be pleased with him, and some say Mu'adh ibn Jabal, in which he spoke to his brother and his friend, Abu Darda. He said to him: "Let us believe for a moment. Let's have a moment together — a moment of faith."

What does that even mean? My dear brothers and sisters, there is no blessing — there is no blessing — that Allah bestows upon anybody in this world more than having faith and iman in their hearts. It is that iman, that faith, that gives people hope, that gives people light in the darkness of this world, that gives people meaning in the mess of what we're seeing today as we view the world. SubhanAllah, the wounds in the ummah are so many, ya jama'ah.

We're barely recovering — and not even complete yet — from the wound that we still encounter in Gaza, and we start watching and seeing what's happening in Sudan, in Darfur. Allahumma sta'in. In a moment like this, people start wondering and thinking about their iman, having all these unanswered questions.

When is this madness going to stop? Why is this continuing? Why is this happening? It is in those moments, my dear brothers and sisters, that people start thinking about — subhanAllah — the ni'mah of iman, the ni'mah of faith. Having a strong iman in the heart is a blessing, and especially in moments of hardship and difficulty like these.

So what I'd like to share with you in this khutbah, insha'Allah, is a few moments — just like Abdullah ibn Rawaha said:

"Come, let us believe for a moment." Let's have a moment of faith together, and let's try to understand what it even means and how we can work on this, insha'Allah.

Who Is Saying This — and Why?

When it comes to saying ta'ala bina nu'min sa'a — "let us have a moment of faith" — who is saying that anyway? They are already believers. They are already faithful. And you're talking about some of the best generation of sahaba, radiyaAllahu anhum. He is telling his friend: let's get together so we can have more iman. That's what it means. Let's have a moment to renew our iman, to renew our vows to Allah.

Brothers and sisters, Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned — and this is narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad — he said:

(Musnad Imam Ahmad, Hadith 17064; also reported by al-Hakim and al-Tabarani)

This iman wears off and wears out from the heart, just like the embroidery on your clothes. The more you wash it, the more you use it, the more you wear it — it starts wearing off and wearing out as well. Your iman is the same. That is why, unfortunately, a lot of people in Ramadan — khalas — for them, they feel, alhamdulillah, they crossed the bridge to Jannah already. But they realize that the moment you are done with Ramadan, now the fight begins — to keep that iman in your heart. Not just to keep it, but to keep it growing.

But now Ramadan has become so far away from us today. And if you look back and see the moments from Ramadan until this day, subhanAllah, you realize: I need another Ramadan as soon as possible. Well, the good news is it is coming very soon, insha'Allah. But who guarantees that you're going to survive until then? Why would you want to wait until Ramadan begins to raise your iman? Why can't you start from 60% in Ramadan rather than from 20% or 10%?

And that's why that phrase of Abdullah ibn Rawaha is so true — it is so true in every moment of your life and every day. You need a moment to increase your iman. You need a moment of faith. That's what you need.

When was the last time you spoke to somebody — whether it's a member of your household, or a friend, or a colleague, or a brother — and said, "Hey, can I come to you? I would like to have a moment of faith with you"? And when we say that, it doesn't necessarily mean 60 minutes. That's not what it is. It means a moment. It means a period of time. It means a pause from the craziness of this world, the busyness of this world. You're busy with work, with family, with concerns, with budgeting, with the affairs of the world — all of this. It just wears your iman out, slowly and gradually. And you need to keep working on it.

So every now and then I need someone to come and say, "Hey, let's get together and remind each other with faith and iman." We need that moment. We all need that.

Ask Allah to Renew Your Iman

The Prophet ﷺ said — make sure to ask Allah to continue to renew that iman in your heart:

How often do we ask Allah: "My Lord, I ask that You confirm my iman in my heart. My Lord, I ask You to renew this faith in my heart. Ya Rabbi, I ask You to make it stronger and stronger every single day"?

How often do we ask Allah for this? I see a lot of people in the masjid, mashaAllah, after salam — Allah bless them, Ya Rabb al-alameen — they raise their hands and they make du'a. But subhanAllah, we make du'a and it becomes so mechanical that it's just a matter of habit. It's just those moments after salah when you raise your hands, you put them down, and if you ask them, "What did you say?" — probably they don't remember what they asked for. Why? Because it became so habitual. There is no longer a connection with our hearts. That's why we need to have that moment of iman — ta'ala nu'min sa'ah. Let's sit together. Let's remind each other. We need to remind each other about the meaning of this life and the purpose of this life.

O You Who Believe — Believe

Brothers and sisters, so we have come to this moment — it's a moment of spirituality, really. It's a spiritual clarity that we need to have between ourselves and Allah. I know, alhamdulillah, there were moments in our lives where we felt our iman is soaring so high and we start seeing the light — really. Like, wow, it's so clear that you have absolutely no doubt in the Qur'an, no doubt in the Prophet ﷺ, no doubt in your faith. You had those moments. But then you go back again and start realizing at some point — subhanAllah — what happened to them? Where is it? Why can't I sustain that moment all the time?

Well, that's because al-iman yazidu wa yanqusu — iman continues to grow and also decline. That is very important to understand.

And brothers and sisters, in order for us to have that moment of clarity — what does it mean to say, "Let's get together for a moment of iman, a moment of faith"? It means that you need to start talking about it. You need to start practicing, encouraging each other, and helping one another. As Allah says in Surah an-Nisa:

"O you who believe, believe in Allah and His Messenger." The scholars of tafsir say: look at this. Allah says, "O you who believe" — so He is describing them as believers. But then He sends them a command: believe. What does it even mean? They're already believers. Allah called them believers. So the scholars say the second one is a verb to take that faith into action — like, if you're truly a believer, then prove it. That's what it means.

How often do we audit ourselves every single day and every single night? How much of my actions, how much of my practice throughout the day, how many of my minutes and hours through the day and the night can I record in the ledger of my iman — versus just the chores of life? Just the chores of life. And a lot of us, when we live, we calculate our hours, our minutes, our days — they become, unfortunately, more just like living by. Just going through life. Which is why if our iman is not growing, it is actually going down. Which is why we need those moments very frequently.

So I can sit with someone and say, "Hey, remind me with something. Give me an advice. What should I do more today? Just give me something of a good deed that I should actually practice tonight, insha'Allah." Just ask someone. By that, they will remind you — and frankly, you also remind them as well. They need to focus on their iman too. And that's the meaning of it: to have that moment of spiritual clarity.

Practical Moments of Spiritual Clarity

Spiritual clarity — when you zone out of this world, you turn off every noise, every background noise of this life for a moment. Just get out of it and focus on that moment for the sake of Allah. That moment could be the moment for you to repent to Allah, to remember Him and reflect. And here are a few things we could do as a moment of spiritual clarity, insha'Allah.

1. Prayer — Especially at Night

The best thing, the best ibadah that you could do, is salah. And the best salah after the fard salah is the one you do at home — not in the masjid. The one you do at home. I know how hard it is to pray at home, because the house, when you go home, reminds you of what? Comfort. Ease. Eating and drinking and relaxing and taking a break. That's what your house reminds you of. Which is why when I say, "Hey, get up and pray two raka'ah," it's so hard. But when you're in the masjid, you are in the mood. You walked, you drove to the masjid, you came to the ambience and environment that encouraged you to make that ibadah.

That's why the Prophet ﷺ said: the most important and most rewarding salah that you pray after the fard salah — he didn't say any specific salah — he said the one you pray at home, outside of the fard you pray in the masjid. So any nafl you pray at home is more valuable. And among all the prayers you pray at home, the most valuable will be the night prayer — when everybody is sleeping.

And subhanAllah, when the weather starts getting cold and you enjoy the warmth of your bed, and now you wake up half an hour before Fajr — the shaitan comes and tells you: "You still have time." And you go to sleep again. But if you say no, let me get up — that is a moment of spiritual clarity. You made a huge sacrifice. You defied your human nature, you defied the shaitan, you defied all the temptations, to get up and make wudu in the cold weather and pray two raka'ah when no one else is watching. This is a conversation between you and Allah. Can you imagine how valuable those moments are?

2. Circles of Knowledge — Halaqahs

You can have that moment of clarity by involving yourself in a halaqah — a circle that teaches about the Qur'an, for example, or the after-'Isha' khatira. I'm coming, alhamdulillah, because I would love to hear the khatira, I would love to hear this session. Why? Because I need it. That is the fuel for your iman. And iman comes with ilm, with knowledge. The more you know, the more you practice, the higher your iman will be. So I need to continue to increase my knowledge.

And if you're not increasing your ilm in your deen — if you haven't read a book lately on any subject about faith and iman — then your iman is not even stagnant; it is going down. Because it has to increase. The only thing that the Prophet ﷺ was commanded in the Qur'an to ask Allah for more of was knowledge:

"And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge." Allah will take care of the dunya for you. But knowledge — you need to work so hard for it.

3. Contemplation — Tafakkur and Tadabbur

Brothers and sisters, you can also find that moment of clarity when you sit down and engage in contemplation — tafakkur and tadabbur. About what? Whatever you want. Your relationship with Allah — think about that. Your life — think about that. How much time do you have left in this dunya? How your end is going to look. The Qur'an — how much do you know of it? Take an ayah, just hold on to one ayah that you remember, and start repeating it in your mind and try to understand what Allah wants from you through it.

Think about someone that you wronged. Reflect on this. Seek Allah's forgiveness. See how you can compensate that individual and work on it. Whatever it takes to keep you grounded and remind yourself that you still need Allah.

4. Du'a — Raising Your Hands

You can also have that moment of clarity when you raise your hands and make du'a to Allah. Because when you make du'a, it's an admission that: "Ya Rabbi, I need You." No matter how rich you are, no matter how strong you are, no matter how smart you think you are — when you raise your hand and say, "My Lord, I need You," this is an admission that you are weak and you are always in need of Allah. And that moment of weakness in itself — the result of it is actually glory in this dunya and in the akhira. Because now you subjugate yourself to Allah, and only to Allah.

5. Dhikr — Remembrance of Allah

You can also do this through dhikr. Every day in the morning — what does it take? Just a moment of clarity: sit down in the masjid and make dhikr after Fajr salah. Or even while you're driving to work, just making dhikr. As the sun rises, subhanAllah, you're seeing all the beautiful creation of Allah, and you make that dhikr. Allah says in the Qur'an:

"Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." Indeed, through the remembrance of Allah, the hearts will find peace and tranquility. And in a moment of trouble like this, that's what we need.

6. Reflecting on Allah's Blessings

Make sure that you think about Allah's blessings that He bestowed upon you. Because it seems that in a world so focused on the dunya, people focus on what they don't have more than what they have. When you watch a lot of people on social media, we start realizing how much they have — subhanAllah — and then as a result we start saying, "Why can't I have the same thing too?" That social comparison is a killer. So it is very important that you focus on what you have.

Allah even said:

"And within yourselves — will you not then see?" Look at yourself. Why don't you focus on yourself? You don't even have to think about your job or money or anything. Just your creation, your body — how Allah made this functional body for you. Just look at that and think about it.

7. Good Companionship — Sohbah

You can find that moment of clarity by finding a good sohbah — beautiful companionship with the people around you. Brothers and sisters, we all need that sohbah. The life we are going through right now — you can't just be on your own. And if you're going through some hardship and difficulty, whether it's spiritual, financial, or a household difficulty, you are not alone — and you shouldn't convince yourself that you are. No, you're not. You can still come and ask for help from a friend, from a community member, from your family. Find ways.

We have that beautiful sohbah, that companionship, as the Prophet ﷺ advised us to have. The example of a good companion and a bad companion is like the one who sells you perfume and the blacksmith. The one who sells perfume — when you go to a shop in the mall, you don't even have to buy anything. You're just going to walk through, spray the samples, and walk out smelling nice. They might even give you samples for free. At the very least, you come out refreshed. But the blacksmith — if you don't burn your clothes, then you're going to smell like secondhand smoke. That's the example of good companionship and bad companionship.

Ask yourself: who is the one I associate with the most? What do they give me? Do they raise my iman, or otherwise?

8. Worshipping Allah with the Heart

And finally, my dear brothers and sisters, one of those moments of clarity that is required from us is to worship Allah more with our heart than with our body. I know we always focus on the body — so you wake up to pray, you walk to the masjid, you make dhikr, you fast. It's all beautiful and great. But what is more important is to worship Allah with your heart.

How much tawakkul — true reliance on Allah — do you have? How much khushu' — humbleness and humility to Allah — do you exercise? How much rida — contentment with what Allah has bestowed upon you and decreed for you — do you have? How much fear of Allah's punishment and how much hope in Allah's forgiveness and acceptance do you carry? All these beautiful things are in the heart. No matter how much you read them in books, you don't practice this by doing something unless you sit down, start thinking about it, reflect on it, and make sure to feel it in your heart. These are the ibadat — this is what we all need.

A Call to Action

And if you have reflected on any of these moments that I've just shared with you right now, make sure that by the end of this khutbah you have somebody in mind — "I want to talk with them tonight, insha'Allah." I want to sit down with this brother. I want to sit down with this sister of mine. And I would like to ask them, for a moment — five minutes, ten minutes, no more. Don't be too heavy on them. Just for a few minutes: "Remind me with something. Give me an advice. If you were going to advise somebody today, what advice would you give them?" We all need each other, and we all need to know that I can come to you and ask for advice, and I would love to hear from you as well.

That's the spirit of the community, and that's the spirit of Abdullah ibn Rawaha when he went to his brother Abu Darda and said: ta'ala bina nu'min sa'a — let's sit down together and have a moment of faith.

Aqoolu qawli hadha wa astaghfirullaha li wa lakum. Innahu huwa al-Ghafuru al-Raheem.

Second Khutbah: The Hadith of Two Concerns

Alhamdulillahi Rabb al-alameen. Wa sallallahu wa sallam wa baraka 'ala Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam tasliman kathira.

My dear brothers and sisters, one moment I would like to remind myself and you — to renew that iman in your heart. There is a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ reported in Sunan al-Tirmidhi. He ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2465 — declared Sahih by al-Albani)

Man kanat al-akhiratu hammahu — whoever makes the akhira his main concern — ja'alallahu ghinahu fi qalbih — Allah will put richness, which means self-sufficiency and contentment, in their heart. Wa jama'a 'alayhi shamlahu — and He will gather all their affairs for them, so they always feel, alhamdulillah, collected. Wa atathu al-dunya wa hiya raghimah — and the dunya will come to them forcefully. Allah will make the whole world conspire to benefit them in this dunya and in the akhira.

Wa man ja'ala al-dunya hammahu — and whoever makes the dunya — this world — his main concern, worrying about the next phase in life, the next stage, the next financial goal and this and that — which is all halal — but if that becomes your biggest concern, then the Prophet ﷺ says: ja'alallahu faqrahu bayna 'aynayn — Allah will make his poverty between his eyes. Like they never have enough. Even if they become billionaires, they never have enough. They always feel they are going to lose what they have. Wa shattata 'alayhi shamlahu — and Allah will disperse all their affairs. They're trying to catch all their affairs all over the place. Wa lam ya'tihi mina al-dunya illa ma kutiba lahu — and they are not going to get anything from this world except what Allah has already decreed for them.

So my dear brothers and sisters, a moment of faith for us here is to reflect and balance between our work for this dunya and our focus on the akhira. May Allah make it all easy for us, Ya Rabb al-alameen.