20160729 - First Khutba

Opening — Praise and Introduction

الحمد لله القائل، الحمد لله القائل في كتابه العزيز:

فنحمده حمدًا كثيرًا كلما حمده الحامدون، ونشكره شكرًا جميلًا كلما شكره الشاكرون. ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، ونشهد أن سيدنا ومولانا محمدًا عبده ورسوله.

أما بعد: عن أبي الدرداء رضي الله عنه قال، سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3641; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2682)

Introduction: The Topic of This Khutbah

Dear friends and elders, the hadith that I have read is reported by Abu Darda' رضي الله عنه. This hadith focuses on and highlights some of the benefits of seeking knowledge. And today my topic will be focused on the benefits, the etiquettes, and the importance of acquiring religious knowledge — Islamic knowledge.

First Benefit: The Path to Paradise is Made Easy

So Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم says in the hadith that a person who treads a path with the intention of seeking knowledge, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes the path towards paradise easy for this person. This is one of the greatest benefits, dear friends — that the path towards paradise is made easy for that person who seeks knowledge. Our entire endeavors in this world, dear friends, are about going back to that paradise.

The reason why I say going back is because we belong in paradise. Adam عليه السلام was there. He was sent to this earth. And now we are all trying our best to go back to where we belong. And Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم says: learn the knowledge of deen, and I will make the path towards paradise easy for you.

Second Benefit: The Angels Lower Their Wings

The second benefit this hadith highlights is that the angels lower their wings to that person — the seeker of knowledge. The angels lower their wings to the seeker of knowledge out of happiness, because they are pleased for what he is doing. This is another great merit, dear friends. It is given to those people who truly seek the knowledge — that knowledge that brings them closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

If you recall Surah al-Baqarah, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told the angels:

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told the angels that He is going to create Adam عليه السلام, they objected to his creation. And here we find the angels are lowering their wings. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created angels with wings:

Some angels have two wings, some of them three wings, some of them more than that. So they spread their wings out of happiness. Look at this person — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him the freedom of choice, but he chose to be near Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and chose to gain the recognition of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through knowledge. This is a great merit. And this is a merit that angels do not get, because they are told to worship and they do whatever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands. But human beings — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us a choice. When we use that choice for the right reason, it is greatly appreciated, and the angels are appreciating it.

Third Benefit: All Creation Seeks Forgiveness for the Scholar

The third benefit the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned in the hadith:

The alim — the person who has true knowledge of deen — the inhabitants of the skies and the earth, all those creations living beyond the earth, the angels, the birds, and all those that we don't know of:

And He creates those creations that you have no knowledge of. We have discovered some, but there are creations of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that have not been discovered yet — that is the knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ — all those living in the skies and the earth — they seek istighfar for this person. They seek forgiveness on his behalf. They ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala: O Allah, forgive this person. O Allah, have mercy upon this person. And why? Because he is seeking knowledge — that knowledge that brings him closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The hadith says: حَتَّى الْحِيتَانُ فِي الْمَاءِ — even the fish in the water, the fish in the ocean, in the sea, seek forgiveness and make du'a and supplicate on this person's behalf.

And a person might say: what is the secret behind that? Because dear friends:

The corruption, the chaos that spreads on the earth — a great portion of it is because of the doings of people. And when a person truly learns the deen of Islam, then he truly understands what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants from him, and truly he gains the recognition of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Dear friends, when that happens — when people together worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

Then people are given abundance of rain. They are given more rizq. So much benefit is given because people are now loyal to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And dear friends, you will not be able to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala if there is no knowledge. This is why Imam Bukhari رحمه الله in his book, Sahih al-Bukhari, titled his chapter: بَابُ الْعِلْمِ قَبْلَ الْقَوْلِ وَالْعَمَلِ — the chapter of knowledge before speech and action. Before a person says anything, before a person actually does anything, knowledge supersedes your action and your saying. Before you speak, you need to know the source of it. Before you do any action, you need to know whether this is what Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم wants from you.

And that will only happen, dear friends, if a person acquires the true knowledge of the Deen of Islam. So when a person does this, then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shows mercy to the people of the earth. When there is total negligence from the orders of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, even the animals suffer, dear friends. Even the animals — when the rain is stopped, the fish living in the water also die, the animals also die — because of the wrongdoings of the people. So then, when things are going right, any person who is seeking knowledge and spreading the Deen of Islam, bringing people closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — then even the fish supplicate on his behalf.

Fourth Benefit: The Scholar's Virtue Over the Worshipper

The virtue of a scholar — a person who has deeni knowledge — is like the superiority of the moon over the stars. In the hadith, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is saying that this is like his own superiority over all of us. The same superiority belongs to the alim over all other people.

What greater virtue is there, dear friends, for a person who wants to dedicate his life to learning the true knowledge of the Deen of Islam? He is like a shining moon. Just as the moon outshines the stars — look at the sky, the light that we receive is from the moon — similarly, a person who is learning the Deen of Islam is spreading the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bringing people closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Fifth Benefit: The Scholars Are the Inheritors of the Prophets

And lastly, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: the scholars are the true inheritors of the Anbiya' عليهم السلام. And the Anbiya' عليهم السلام do not leave behind gold coins or silver coins. What they leave behind is knowledge.

The Story of Abu Hurairah and the Inheritance of the Prophet

Once Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه went to the marketplace. As we know, Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه was one of the greatest scholars of his time, and the majority of the ahadith we find are reported from him. If you open up Riyad al-Salihin, you will see his name many times. So many times are ahadith reported from him that the author simply writes: وَعَنْهُ، وَعَنْهُ، وَعَنْهُ — "from him, from him, from him" — meaning Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه.

He dedicated his life to the service of deen and to learning the knowledge of deen. From the time he accepted Islam, he was with Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. So much so, that sometimes he would mention a hadith and some of the senior companions, like Umar رضي الله عنه, would say: "Did you really hear Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم saying this?" And he would say: "Yes, I heard Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم saying this. I heard it with my own ears." — indicating that there was a hadith that Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه heard perhaps when no one else was present.

So Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه, after the demise of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, once went to the marketplace and said: "What are you people doing here? The miras of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is being distributed in his masjid, and you are busy here buying and selling!" When they heard Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه making this announcement, they hurried and went to the masjid. They saw people making dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They saw gatherings of knowledge — the halaqat — people sitting down, learning and teaching. Some of them reciting Quran, and some of them praying.

They saw this, but they didn't see any miras. They thought the inheritance would be money or the belongings of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. So they came back and told Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه: "You told us the inheritance of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is being distributed — we didn't see anything being distributed!" He said: "What did you see?" They said: "We saw people sitting down, making dhikr of Allah, learning and teaching, and reciting Quran." He said: "By Allah, this is the miras of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم."

So imagine, dear friends — you become closer to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. You become those who accept the miras of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم by learning the deen and spreading the deen. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give all of us the understanding of this and give us tawfiq to acquire knowledge, dear friends.

The True Believer Is Never Satisfied with Knowledge

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم says: a true believer is never satisfied with knowledge — حَتَّى مُنْتَهَاهُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ — until his end is towards paradise.

Dear friends, what happens in our societies sadly is that whatever we have heard, that's all we know. We limit ourselves to what we already know. And even when a person is trying to explain — "this is the hadith of Rasulullah, this is from the madhab, this is what is right and you need to follow it" — sometimes we respond with "I've already heard this."

We spend so much of our lives, dear friends, dedicated to learning the knowledge of other sciences. But then we have to ask ourselves: how much are we dedicating to learning the Deen of Islam?

A Call to the Arabic and Sohbah Programs

I have been told — alhamdulillah — that this masjid has started a sohbah program and an Arabic program, and they are looking for brothers to show interest. The Arabic program is geared towards brothers regardless of their age. This is, mashAllah, a very great program.

Today we learn foreign languages, dear friends. We try to excel in them. We take pride in them. And yet if somebody asks us to call the adhan, we make so many blunders. Some of us cannot even pronounce the name of our own Prophet correctly. Instead of Ha we say Ha — we say Muhammad. Our Prophet's name is Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. He was praised in the earth and the skies. What excuse will you have on the Day of Judgment when it is said: "O so-and-so, you dedicated eight years or more of your life to learning something else — but what did you do to learn my deen? To recite the Quran — let alone understand it — you cannot even pronounce it properly."

This is the state, dear friends. And it is up to us to change. Allah will not change the condition of people until they want to change that condition. One should make up their mind: "I will change" — as an individual. And individual by individual becoming a community and a nation — then the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is there. Nobody is going to come and take your hand and say "let's change it." No — you have to change it. And then the help of Allah is there for the one who takes the initiative. The easy path — the path towards paradise — is made easy for that person, dear friends.

So I encourage the brothers, inshAllah, to take full benefit of the Arabic program in this age. And the sohbah program — mashAllah, a very good name that the brothers have chosen — sohbah, meaning companionship. The name is given because they emphasize that you have to learn knowledge in the traditional way, by staying in the company of righteous scholars — scholars who are well-versed and have dedicated their lives to the service of deen.

Today so many people are teaching whatever comes to their mind — self-study, self-research. But the Deen of Islam is actually a nur, a light from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and you have to gain that light from righteous scholars — those who are qualified and have dedicated their lives to the service of deen. Because ilm has to be coupled with amal. Today we find people with so much knowledge — ask a person and he will talk about so many things — but where is the amal? There is no amal.

The Warning: Knowledge Without Action

Just as Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم gave the example of the learned person as a shining full moon — similarly, dear friends, for a person who learns knowledge but has no amal, you have to hear this verse from Surah al-A'raf:

When a person is given knowledge but then does not follow it — instead following the way of Shaytan, clinging to this worldly life, without sincerity of intention — then: "Recite to them the story of that person to whom We gave Our revelations, but he stripped himself of them. Shaytan pursued him and he became one of the misguided. If We had willed, We could have elevated him through them, but he clung to the earth and followed his own desire." There was ilm but it was not coupled with amal.

Then the example of that person — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ — the similitude of this person is like that of a dog. From the highest rank, down to the example of a dog. إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ — if you chase a dog, he lolls out his tongue. If you don't chase him and leave him — يَلْهَثْ — all the same, he lolls out his tongue. This is the example of the people who reject Our verses — and rejecting verses includes knowing something and not acting upon it, and giving preference to something else.

And how will that khashiyah come within us? It will not just come by reading, or by reading something on the internet. It needs the sohbah of righteous company, dear friends. The teacher — the mu'allim — is not just an instructor. He is also a mentor. He is also a guide. He is also a practical example for you. You sit in their majlis and you will see the difference, dear friends.

A Message to the Youth

This program is geared toward the high schoolers — the teenagers. I request all the teenagers to participate and to encourage your friends. Dear friends, our Islam in the West depends on you — to be really frank about it. The first generation comes with the language, with a good understanding. But there is so much confusion out there — in high schools, in colleges. People are asking questions, influenced by the media. And usually they are shy about even coming to the masajid. But you are the ones going to college and school. You become the flag bearers of Islam, dear friends. And when you do this, dear friends, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make your life easy in this world, and there will be special help in this world and in the hereafter:

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give me and give you the tawfiq. وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين.

Closing Du'a

عباد الله رحمكم الله — and establish the prayer.