20160304-Friday Khutba-- Bounties of Allah & how to be Grateful

Opening — The Khutbah of Need

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 مُحَمَّدًا سَيِّدُنَا وَمَوْلَانَا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمَّا بَعْدُ

أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْكَلَامِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَخَيْرَ الْهُدَى هُدَى سَيِّدِنَا وَمَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

As Allah says in this divine, powerful, sublime call — O you who have attained faith, be reverent of Allah, be conscious of Allah in a way that is worthy of His beauty and majesty, that is worthy of His infinite beauty and majesty and perfection in that beauty and majesty, in a way that is worthy of what He bestows upon us of His innumerable favours and bounties. And make sure we 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 deeds and actions. All must be in loving surrender to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Of that is to be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Of the fulfilment of that purpose — and the purpose of ibadiyyah is to be grateful, thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

All Favours Are From Allah

Allah عز وجل says:

Whatever you enjoy of favours — whatever those favours are, whatever their nature is, whatever their means are — essentially and actually and in reality, all of that is from God, from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And on top of that, if you are touched by harm or injury or discomfort, then you run pleading to Him for rescue, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Morning and Evening Remembrance of Favour

Rasulullah ﷺ teaches us, as he himself practises ﷺ — every morning and every evening or late afternoon, we remind ourselves of that requirement.

O Allah, whatever this morning I am enjoying of favour, or any of Your creation, it is from You and from You alone. All praise is due to You.

And in the late afternoon or the evening, one says:

Said he ﷺ, as we should say and must say — to remind our hearts and our minds and ourselves of that reality. No matter what the source and the means of that which we perceive as favour is, essentially it is all from Him عز وجل, and that requires gratefulness to Him عز وجل.

Act in Gratefulness — The Example of Dawood and Luqman

As He سبحانه وتعالى enumerated the many special favours upon Dawood عليه السلام and his household and family, He says: Act, O family of Dawood, in gratefulness, in thankfulness to Allah عز وجل. Not only speak and say grateful words, but act — اعْمَلُوا — do in ways that are grateful to Allah سبحانه وتعالى for what He has bestowed upon you of His favours and bounties سبحانه وتعالى.

As Allah عز وجل reminds the great wise Luqman عليه السلام of His bounties — especially the bounties of spirituality and of morality, and the bounties of the soul and the mind and the heart, such as hikmah, such as wisdom — He سبحانه وتعالى says: Be grateful to Allah. Be grateful to Allah for what you enjoy, for what you have. And those who are grateful to Allah, they are grateful for themselves, because it will only reflect on them. Gratefulness to Allah عز وجل will reflect with goodness and with peace and many other favours indeed upon them.

For on the Day of Judgment as well, I and you will be held to account for every favour we enjoyed. Have we been grateful? And if we are grateful, it is ourselves who will benefit — on the Day of Judgment, not only in this world. And if we are not grateful, it is we who will be the losers on the Day of Judgment, and even in this world as well.

Shaytan's Pledge — to Make Mankind Ungrateful

Allah سبحانه وتعالى reminds us that this is so important — so important that Shaytan, when Allah سبحانه وتعالى created the human being and set the history of the human being on course, Shaytan pledges to Allah سبحانه وتعالى in his act of rebelliousness, in his act of delusion and arrogance, in his act of disbelief. And Allah allowed that for us to have the freedom to choose between evil and good. And what he pledged is: I will come to them from their right and from their left, from above, from beneath, and you will find most of them ungrateful. I will make sure that most human beings will be ungrateful to You. والعياذ بالله.

And that is so serious that Allah عز وجل says also, in many places in the Quran:

Verily, Allah is one with momentous and great bounty and favour upon mankind, and yet most of them are ungrateful. Most of us — human beings — are ungrateful for the favours that Allah عز وجل bestows upon us.

The Types of Favours — Apparent and Hidden

Of those favours that He bestows upon us are favours that are apparent and external, and favours that are esoteric and internal — نِعَمُهُ سبحانه وتعالى ظَاهِرَةٌ وَبَاطِنَةٌ.

The ni'mah of halal wealth — especially the ni'mah of halal wealth. The ni'mah of power and strength — power whether that be physical, or intellectual, or spiritual, or political, or military, or social, or psychological. Power is a ni'mah from Allah عز وجل, and we must be grateful for that. To earn it in lawful ways and to dispense of it in lawful, moral, ethical, and divine ways. Not to abuse that, not to misuse that — any sort and any level of wealth, and any sort and any level of power.

Not only to be just, but to be benevolent with that wealth and that power. To be magnanimous, to be مُحْسِن — not only to be مُقْسِط but to be مُحْسِن in the use of wealth and power. That is a ni'mah to be thankful for.

All sorts of power — you have power at home. Husband, or wife, or both — vis-à-vis one another, vis-à-vis the household, vis-à-vis the children as well. As an employer you have power vis-à-vis your employees — economic and financial power, legal power, as well as psychological power. That must be used in ways that are grateful to Allah عز وجل. And the ways that are grateful to Allah عز وجل are the ways in which we use the ni'mah — in a way that He سبحانه وتعالى intended for that favour to be used.

The Favours of the Senses

The ni'mah of eyesight. The ni'mah of speech, of the tongue. The ni'mah of hearing, of our ears. The ni'mah of our hands and our touch. The ni'mah of our legs. The ni'mah of our sexual drives. These are ni'mah from Allah عز وجل — they are not ours, we have not created them. They belong to Him عز وجل.

The ni'mah of a heart, of a kidney, of a liver — سبحان الله. The ni'mah of the ability to touch and to feel — to know that this is hot and this is cold. And how many people don't have that.

We are to use our eyesight, and our hearing, and our touch, and our tongues — all of that — in the way He loves for them to be used. Not in the way I want to use them, despite the fact that that might be counter to the love and the will of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. To use the ni'mah that He has created — and He owns it — in the way He wants it سبحانه وتعالى, not in the way I want it and prefer it. That is كُفْرَانُ النِّعَم.

Using the Senses in Ways Allah Does Not Love

When I look at something that is haram, I am using my eyes in ways that are ungrateful to Allah سبحانه وتعالى. When I use my tongue — in the masjid or outside of the masjid, at work or in family life, in agreement or in disagreement or in feuds — when I use my tongue in ways that He does not love, that are hurtful and injurious and unjust and unfair and unkind, I am ungrateful to Allah سبحانه وتعالى for the ni'mah, for the bounty and the favour of speech.

When I use my ears to listen to sounds and words that are illicit, that are forbidden — even though I like that, and my nafs, my lower nafs, likes that — if I use my ears to listen to that which He does not love, and He does not love it for sure because the consequences in my life are going to be negative. Allah does not stop us from doing anything except that it is wrong for us and negative for us and hurtful for us — not hurtful to Him, Allah عز وجل.

And when I use my senses — my ears, or my tongue, or my eyes, or my skin, or my touch, or my sexual drives, or my eating drives — if I use those in ways He does not love, I am ungrateful to Allah عز وجل. And I am fulfilling the desire of Shaytan on earth. And I am contributing to Shaytan's victory over mankind on earth.

And yes — when I use any other gift, as mentioned — wealth or power of any sort — in ways He does not love, that too is ingratitude.

The Favour of Peace and Freedom

The ni'mah also of peace. And the ni'mah of freedom. When you are in times, and living in times and in communities and in societies where there is no violent conflict — that is a ni'mah that most of us take for granted. And as a matter of fact, we act in ways that are ungrateful to that ni'mah. Instead of promoting that peace and preserving that peace, we do things amongst ourselves — amongst family members, amongst community members, amongst fellow members of the same nation — to break that peace and to call for its rupture. That is an act of كُفْرَان, an act of ingratitude to Allah عز وجل, for the ni'mah of peace.

And freedom — you have freedom, human beings. You have freedom, Muslims. What are you doing with that freedom? Is that freedom used to preserve and promote morality? To promote awareness of Allah عز وجل? To promote justice? To promote benevolence and goodness and magnanimity? Or is it abused — to promote the low drives of the self, and to promote anger, and to promote arrogance, and to promote conceitedness, and to promote delusion with one another?

What is it used for, that freedom? Political freedom — what did you use it for? Freedom of expression — what did you use it for? Or did you use it to express yourselves in slandering ways, in ugly ways, in violent ways, in arrogant ways? I say what I want regardless of what the consequences of that speech are — against you and against others. What freedom is it to say: I am free to do what I want to do and to say what I want to say? That is not being grateful for the ni'mah of freedom.

The ni'mah of freedom is to use it, promote it, and preserve it in the ways He loves — that promote and preserve the well-being of people, that promote and preserve the happiness of people, the peace of people, and the ability of people to always be connected to their God, to their Lord, to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Not to disrupt that, not to break that in the name of freedom. To preserve and promote that freedom — that is part of being grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

However, rare are those of My servants who are grateful.

O Allah, please let us be of those who listen to the words of admonition and follow the best of them.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ — seek the forgiveness of Allah عز وجل. What an excellent abode awaits those who sincerely seek forgiveness from Allah عز وجل.

Second Part of the Khutbah

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدٍ عَبْدِكَ وَنَبِيِّكَ وَرَسُولِكَ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ وَأَزْوَاجِهِ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، 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 remind myself and you. And I pray and implore Allah that these words — as I remind myself first by them — I hope that you do not take them lightly, you do not take them without sincerity. That we do not come to Jumu'ah simply because it is a routine. That we come to listen, to internalize, to learn, and to make a commitment to change — for all of us need that, for every breath of our lives. In every breath of our lives, you and I must learn to change positively.

Because when I leave this world, when we die — what counts is the sum total of the changes you produced in your life, in your relationship with Allah عز وجل. What were those changes? Did they lead to قَلْبٌ سَلِيمٌ, or did they not? Did they lead to a heart that is sound? As Allah says in the Quran — only those who come to Allah with a heart that is sound will be in His company and will prosper on the Day of Judgment and in the hereafter:

I ask you not to take these words lightly. I ask you — and I struggle in myself — to be focused, to internalize what we learn, and to implore Allah to help us: first accept, second internalize, third actualize and practice that which He loves سبحانه وتعالى of what we learn.

The Favour of Unity

Having said that, I close with the next thing about gratitude to Allah عز وجل. Allah عز وجل says to you and to me:

Allah reminds you and me of a ni'mah, another favour that we forget about, that we don't ponder and we dismiss. We take for granted. And it seems the utmost effort of many of us is to violate it, to be ungrateful for it, to change it in the wrong way, to abuse it. And we do that at all levels — religious levels, moral levels, political levels, communal levels, social levels — we do that so vociferously, with such strength, to break that ni'mah.

Do you know what ni'mah it is? As you heard Allah say — if you understood those words — the ni'mah of unity. Allah mentions it as a ni'mah. And He says: do not do the opposite of that.

Do not allow yourselves to be like those who broke and divided. That is a ni'mah for which you have to be grateful. And to be grateful for the ni'mah of unity is to preserve it. To make sure I don't allow my inner emotions and my priorities and my opinions — even if I were the greatest of all scholars, and most of us are not even students of 'ilm — that I must not allow my emotions and my drives and my understandings to break that unity.

There is enough, alhamdulillah, diversity within the requirements of that unity. There is no need, والعياذ بالله, to break unity. Especially when some of us claim that we are preserving and protecting the deen. Unity is deen. Unity in tawheed of Allah عز وجل, in morality, is deen. To preserve it is deen. To preserve it is gratefulness to Allah عز وجل.

And to preserve it means each one of you — forget about the political concept of it for now — means each one of us, emotionally, works on not allowing anything at the family level or the communal level or the masjid level or the national level to break that unity. Because it breaks because you and I have ideas, thoughts, feelings, and opinions. And when we indulge those emotions, those drives, those opinions, they lead — in such cases — to break that unity. So the beginning of protection against that is inside of you. Inside of you and me. Not to allow that to happen inside of you. And if it happens, ignore it, reject it — I cannot do that.

It is a ni'mah that Allah holds us to account for in this world and in the hereafter. And there are consequences in this world and in the hereafter when we break it. Just look at what is happening in the world to us, to Muslims. Yes, we see things that are wrong. But what happens to us is on account of what we have earned, on account of what we have done, what we have said, what we have felt, what we have thought, what we have allowed of all of that. And the change begins inside of you and inside of me.

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

I say these words reminding myself first and then you. And I implore Allah عز وجل to help us be of those indeed who listen to the words of admonition, internalize, actualize and practice the best of them.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allah عز وجل for His mercy — and great recovery to those who are ill and those who are in pain and suffering and hurt anywhere in the world.

عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ