20160708- Second Khutba

Opening Praises and Supplications

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May Allah forgive you your deeds and forgive you your sins.

And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory. As for what follows, the most truthful speech is the Book of Allah. And the best guide is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And the worst of things are newly-invented matters. And every newly-invented matter is a misguidance. And every misguidance is in the Fire. O Allah, save us from the Fire, all of us. O Allah, make this gathering of ours a merciful gathering, and separate us from it in a state of innocence. And do not make among us or with us a miserable or deprived one. Ameen.

All praises and thanks are due to Allah. We thank Him. We glorify Him. We seek His help. We seek His protection from the evil of our own souls and the consequences of our own misdeeds. I bear witness that there is no true God except Allah. I also bear witness that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is His final and last messenger. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, as well as all his companions, his family, his children, and his followers until the Day of Judgment.

The Quranic Foundation: Istiqamah and Its Reward

Allah, the Exalted, said — I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan:

Those who say, "Our Lord is Allah," and then stand firm — the angels will descend upon them, saying, "Do not fear, and do not grieve, and be glad of the Paradise which you were promised. We are your protectors in this world and in the Hereafter, and in it you will have what your souls desire, and in it you will have what you ask for — a descent from the Forgiving, the Merciful."

Those who say, "Our Lord is Allah," and then stand firm — there is no fear for them, nor do they grieve. They are the companions of Paradise, they will abide therein as a reward for what they used to do.

And those who were guided — Allah increased them in guidance and gave them their righteousness.

Is there a reward for goodness except goodness?

Ramadan as a Training Ground

Brothers and sisters in Islam, Alhamdulillah that Allah, the Exalted, has completed for us the month of Ramadan — a month that we actually missed, a month that Allah, the Exalted, has given us so many opportunities in, so much blessing, so much rahmah, so much forgiveness, and so much opportunity for everyone to take advantage of. May Allah, the Exalted, accept from all of us and all the Muslims whatever we have done in that month, and may Allah, the Exalted, make us amongst those who have succeeded in that month.

Some of the ayahs I quoted from the Quran — Allah, the Exalted, says in Surah Fussilat: those who say "Our Lord is Allah," then became steadfast, became on the straight path, and stayed on that straight path. Allah, the Exalted, is giving good news at the time of their departure, when they are meeting with Allah, the Exalted. Allah, the Exalted, says the angels will descend upon them and give good news: "Do not be afraid and do not grieve. Do not become sad over what is coming, or over what you have left behind in this world."

But Allah, the Exalted, mentions here two conditions. Number one, we have to maintain the connection with Allah, the Exalted. Allah, the Exalted, says: those who say "Our Lord is Allah" — those who say Allah is our Lord, our Master, our Creator, our Cherisher, our Caretaker, our Hope, our Forgiver, our Controller. All of that is in the meaning of the word Rabb — Rabbuna.

Then they became steadfast on the Istiqamah. Istiqamah is a word that, as the scholars said, collects, comprises, and includes the whole religion of Islam. So we are not worshipping Allah, the Exalted, only in the month of Ramadan, but throughout the year — the whole year, the entire lifespan. This is what the word Istiqamah includes.

The Hadith of Sufyan ibn Abdillah: "Say I Believe in Allah, Then Be Steadfast"

A companion by the name of Sufyan ibn Abdillah came to the Messenger of Allah and said:

"O Messenger of Allah, tell me and give me a concise word about Islam that I don't need to ask anyone other than you." Which means it will comprise everything — he would memorize it, not lose it, stick with it, and it would keep him in Islam.

So the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said — as he was given the miracle of words:

"I was given the miracle of comprehensive, concise speech."

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was given those words — two or three or five words — that a person in one sitting, in one hearing, would listen and keep for their entire life. So the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave him from jawami' al-kalim:

"Say: I believe in Allah, and then be steadfast." (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 62)

Keep on that straight path — the path of Islam. This is also what Allah is telling us in the Quran. So the angels will come down upon those who fulfill these conditions: we have Allah as our Lord, and we maintain this istiqamah on the straight path of Islam. And those angels will come and give the good news when we are passing away and meeting with Allah:

"Do not fear, and do not grieve, and receive the good news of the Jannah, of the Heaven, that you have been promised." And the angels will add more and say:

"We are and we have been your protectors, your close friends, your awliya, your guarding and protecting friends, in this life and also in the next life. And you will have in the Jannah whatever you desire, whatever you wish, whatever you ask for — as entertainment from Allah, who is All-Forgiving and All-Kind."

This ayah is also repeated in Surah Al-Ahqaf:

The same meaning as we explained before. Those are the people of the Jannah — they will stay in the Jannah forever as a reward for what they used to do.

Keeping the Momentum of Ramadan

Brothers and sisters, Ramadan was a training ground for every one of us — to renew our covenant with Allah. Are we going to keep on that? Or are we going to say goodbye? Only one month we return to Allah? Or the whole 12 months of the year?

What we have done this month of Ramadan — if it is accepted, it has to generate, it has to breed more and more generosity, more and more kindness, more and more feeling the Quran, more and more understanding the Deen of Allah, more and more kindness towards others, more and more infaq — spending for the sake of Allah in good channels.

This is what the other ayat I quoted indicate. As Allah says:

Is there a reward for goodness except another goodness? So if our goodness is accepted — what we have done in Ramadan — we should see more and more goodness coming.

Those who have been guided — Allah will increase more and more guidance for them. So we should see more and more understanding of the Deen, more and more spirituality, more and more cleaning of our sins, more and more getting closer and closer to Allah.

After Ramadan, if we had not been praying before Ramadan, and Allah guided our hearts in this blessed month, we should keep that momentum throughout the year and keep our five daily prayers with the jama'ah in the masjid. If we were not supporting the masjid before, but only in the month of Ramadan Allah gave us that opportunity, we should support our masjid again and again.

This is how you know you were, alhamdulillah, chosen by Allah. You have been chosen by Allah in the month of Ramadan, and He accepted your amal. Allah says in the Quran — in Surah Al-Ma'idah — only and only the pious does Allah accept from. So Allah will give us that opportunity again and again, after Ramadan as well. Allah has endless and infinite rahmah: "My mercy extends over everything." So it is not only confined to Ramadan, but it goes to Shawwal, Dhul Qa'dah, Dhul Hijjah, and so on.

Alhamdulillah, the month of Ramadan was a month of training, a month of khair, a month of barakah, a month of maghfirah from Allah. And brothers and sisters, this month of Ramadan was so quick — as Allah indicated in the Quran, it was a counted number of days. And so is the time and the lifespan of every one of us.

The Brevity of Life and the Best of People

I just heard about a wonderful man, a wonderful personality whom I had not met, but I read through articles — he just passed away. A brother, Elahi, from Pakistan, who spent almost 60 years running charity work to help orphans, widows, the displaced, the underprivileged, the poor — running ambulances and so much more, for years and years, he and his wife. I just learned he passed away today. May Allah take him to Jannatul Firdaws Al-A'la.

This is life, brothers and sisters — it passes like this. In the authentic hadith of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he says: the best of actions and the best of the people are those whom Allah grants an extended life and in that extended life Allah has given them good amal. The best of the people are those whom Allah grants a long lifespan filled with noble deeds and actions.

May Allah include him in that and accept from him what he has done.

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said: the lifespan of my ummah is about 60 years, and only few people go beyond that. And Allah has given a rough excuse to a person whom Allah grants 60 years of age.

Brothers and sisters, what can we do with 60 years of age? And one third of that we spend in sleep — because 8 hours, approximately 8 hours is the average time people sleep. If you count that, it is almost one third of your lifespan spent in sleep, and nothing is counted against you when you are sleeping. And in childhood you are underage, and nothing is counted against you — all the good is written for you from Allah's generosity and kindness. So you have only about 30 or 40 years of your life, on average, to work and do good deeds and more — to build your home in the akhirah. So we should try to do as much good as we can in this short lifespan that Allah has given us.

May Allah give us all the khair, and distance us all from sharr and evil.

The Hadith of the Most Beloved People to Allah

The following hadith is hasan in its grading, narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and collected by Imam al-Tabarani and others. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; also cited by Ibn Abi al-Dunya — graded Hasan)

The most beloved people to Allah are those who are the most beneficial to other people. And the most beloved of deeds to Allah are happiness that you bring into the heart of a Muslim, or you remove distress from a Muslim, or you pay off his debts — he is filled with debts and you pay them, or you feed him when he is hungry.

And then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went on to say:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani — graded Hasan)

That I go with my Muslim brother and fulfill his need is more beloved to me than staying in the masjid — his masjid, Masjid al-Nabawi — for one month of i'tikaf and worship. Imagine — the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said it is better, more beloved to him, to take care of the need of his fellow Muslim brother.

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said:

Whoever controls and turns away his rage and anger, Allah will cover the faults of that person.

And whoever controls his rage and anger — and had he willed, he would have let it out and vented — if he controls and suppresses it, then on the Day of Judgment Allah will fill that person's heart with pleasure, happiness, and joy. And indeed Allah praises such people in the Quran:

Those who suppress their rage, and those who pardon people.

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said:

Whoever goes with his Muslim brother to fulfill his need and makes sure that it is done for him — then on the Day of Judgment, when feet will slip and fall into the Hellfire on that bridge, Allah will make that person's foot firm on the bridge until he crosses safely to the Jannah.

And bad character — su' al-khuluq — will ruin the actions of a person, just as vinegar corrupts and spoils honey. The honey is sweet and you enjoy it, but if you pour vinegar on top of it, it will spoil. Similarly, bad character and bad behavior — Muslims, we should stay away from it. Why? Because it will corrupt and spoil our amal. We work hard for it, we cannot afford to give it away. We should guard it carefully.

So we ask Allah to take care of us. We ask Allah to help us stay on the straight path, to grant all of us istiqamah, until we meet with Allah in the best iman and the best amal.

The Hadith of Allah's Special People

I will conclude with this hadith — also narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar, and recorded by Imam al-Tabarani and Abu Nu'aym. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah has a group of people to whom He has especially given blessings and favors — special blessings — so that they can benefit others, so that they can benefit the servants of Allah. And Allah will keep that blessing firm among them for as long as they are giving and sharing with others.

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; Abu Nu'aym in Hilyat al-Awliya')

But if they prevent those blessings from others — if they stop and prevent them — then Allah will remove those blessings from them, and give them to other people.

Counting the Blessings of Allah

Brothers and sisters, alhamdulillah, Allah has given us so many blessings — one of them is Ramadan, one of them is Islam as a total religion, one of them is faith, one of them is that Allah has given Muslims a very solid and very powerful family unit and family structure. Allah has given us the last message, which is the summary of all the messages Allah has sent throughout history to mankind. Allah has given us the last messenger, and given him the most comprehensive and most simple way of life.

And there are others also. Allah says:

If you try to count the favors of Allah upon you, you will not be able to do so. We need to think about these ni'ma — just by talking about them, just by sharing them, you are performing the shukr of those ni'ma, just by remembering them.

Closing Advice

Brothers and sisters, my message — to me first and foremost, and to you secondly — is let's keep up with the momentum of Ramadan throughout the year until next year, inshallah. Let's share these blessings with others. Let's be true to what we have learned throughout the month. Let's put into practice what we have learned. Ask Allah all the time. Keep your prayers, keep your fasting, pay your zakah, give your sadaqah, take care of others, show the noble character that Allah has given you as a Muslim, and share with others, inshallah.

And finally — du'a is not limited to Ramadan. Keep making du'a all the time, inshallah. The du'a is the weapon of the believer. So keep that du'a, ask all the time.

Shaytan is now released, and he is there to get you — and mostly he focuses on the Muslim. He has already gotten the others. He is after the Muslim, the Muslimah. So be aware of that. And as you know, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in his farewell sermon at the Hajj said: Shaytan has given up on misleading you in major sins, but be aware of him leading you into small and minor sins. Be careful of that.

Salawat and Du'a

Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and salute him with all respect.

And establish the prayer. Indeed, the prayer keeps the believers upon the truth.