Dont Be Sad, Indeed Allah is with Us

Don't Be Sad, Indeed Allah is with Us

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Allah says in the Qur'an:

O Believers, have Taqwa in Allah, which means that we should be conscious of Him, we should be aware of Him. And we should protect ourselves from His punishment and His wrath. And we should never allow ourselves to die except in a state of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

I begin my khutbah by asking Allah first and foremost to send blessings and prayers upon His Habib, His Rasul:

أَمَّا بَعْد — My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

The Moment in the Cave

Allah in ayah number 40 of Surat al-Tawbah says:

Allah here in this beautiful ayah is describing a very special moment when Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ was sitting next to the Prophet ﷺ in the ghar — the cave — as they were actually exiting Mecca, aiming to reach al-Madinah, as the hijrah that we all know. And we're all actually reviving this period of hijrah in this month, the month of Muharram. May Allah make us among those who will follow the Sunnah of our Habib ﷺ.

So that was a very special moment because Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was actually in a state of sadness. He's leaving his people behind, he's leaving his town behind. He's leaving the place where he was basically raised — born and raised there. People around him, his family members — he's just leaving everything behind. And he's aiming to go to al-Madinah, where he doesn't really even know how the situation will be.

And so it was a special moment. He was sitting right next to the Prophet ﷺ, and the Prophet realized that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq may be sad at this moment. And so he said to Abu Bakr:

Don't be sad. Indeed, Allah is with us. And if Allah is with us, then who is going to be against us? If Allah is with you, and if Allah is with me in our support — and He is all-capable, all-powerful — then what power is going to actually beat you? If Allah is with you, then there is nothing that can overcome you. And that's the reminder that the Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

Feelings, Thoughts, and Actions — The Three Pillars

Now, if you think about it, it's a moment of reflection. Because here is the thing — me and you, every single one in this room, we all have three things. Two things that we have control over, and one thing that we have absolutely no control over.

Every one of us here has feelings / emotions, thoughts, and actions. Three things. Two things we have control over, and one thing that we have absolutely no control over.

Experts say: if we have control over our thoughts and our actions, then we will be able to actually impact our feelings. Because our feelings — every single one of us has no control over how we feel. But we have control over our actions and our thoughts.

Just internalize this for a moment. Because Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and the Sahabah, and the Prophets — by the way, when we speak about hijrah, it's not just a story. It's not for entertainment. It's for me and you to really reflect on how these people were the leaders of the world, how this deen was spread around the world and reached me and you in Texas, in Dallas, in 2024. And it will remain there until the Day of Judgment. There has to be something very special about them — their minds, how they think, how they actually tackle the challenges that they go through. It has to be something unique.

And here is the thing. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was so concerned — more than just leaving his people and his town — he was concerned about the deen. He wanted to spread لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. And he was at a point in his life where the early Muslims were going through a lot of persecution and torture to the point that he was afraid for the deen of Allah.

Going back to these three things — feelings, thoughts, actions. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was feeling sad and fearful for the deen of Allah. He had two options:

Either to let these thoughts overcome him, control him — and as a result he would stay in Mecca, and he would say, "It's just very difficult to go through all of this, it's difficult, it's hard, I can't do it." And he would stay there.

Or — control his thoughts and say: "Well, we may have a solid plan here. If we were to go, it looks like al-Ansar are going to be more welcoming. And maybe we establish our risalah even stronger in Medina. And eventually we can be back in Mecca and spread the da'wah. Let's just be positive right now and let's make that action." Their action was what? To migrate to al-Madinah. To actually leave the entire town and to have a different future for the Muslims in al-Madinah.

Very powerful. And eventually that had an impact on the feelings of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Because eventually he went to al-Madinah — he was welcomed there — and the deen of Allah thrived there. And you see the fruits of that action. Therefore, obviously, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq's feelings changed drastically — from being somebody who was very fearful and sad about the deen of Allah, to somebody now who is very proud of the deen spreading all around the Arabian Peninsula. Now they're in Mecca. Now it's Hajjatul Wada'a. Thousands and thousands of people witnessing the Hajj of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

And Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was just standing there looking at this. I can imagine how he felt. He probably said: Alhamdulillah. I controlled my thoughts. We had a plan. We were fearful of Allah. We wanted the deen of Allah to spread. We made that step to make that hijrah. We reached al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. And we started our bi'ath and our risalah over there. And eventually the risalah was spread widely in the Arabian Peninsula.

Mind Discipline: The Strength Within

Think about it. Your strength and my strength are inside. All of us — Allah has given us this strength within us. Our thoughts, the way we think. Mind discipline.

The Prophet ﷺ at al-Ta'if

Look at another situation: the Prophet ﷺ, right before the hijrah, in al-Ta'if — going through al-Ta'if trying to spread لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. People weren't really welcoming him. They actually tortured him. They sent children to throw stones at the Prophet until he was bleeding.

And as he was sitting and thinking about all of that — "I'm the Prophet, I have the risalah from Allah" — at that moment, an angel came to the Prophet and told him: "Ya Rasulullah, if you want, we can destroy them — the people of al-Ta'if."

Look at the mindset of the Prophet. Wallahi, it takes mind discipline here. He was visionary. He said: "No. I believe that there is hope here. Eventually, people from al-Ta'if can actually be Muslims and worship Allah. And this place can be full of dhikr and full of ta'at and full of iman. No. I'm going to control my thoughts."

Because eventually, yes, he was sad — but he would not let that feeling control him. No. He was visionary. He controlled his thoughts. And as a result, it impacted his actions — he got up and he kept moving. The Prophet kept moving until Islam, the risalah, the kalimah was brought widely to al-Ta'if. And right now, as we speak, al-Ta'if is one of the cities where 100% of the people there are Muslims.

Mind discipline.

Prophet Musa and the Sea

Prophet Musa عليه السلام — an example of this mind discipline. After going through a series of hardships and tribulations in his life, his last scene — as we are in Shahrul Muharram and we're reviving the Sunnah of Musa عليه السلام, that man who had this mind discipline.p>

He was standing right next to the sea with his companions — very few companions — and Pharaoh and his army, all of them right behind the Muslims. The sea in front. The army on the back. And Musa عليه السلام was looking at his people, and his people were all panicking. "There's no way out. There's no way we can actually make it. Absolutely not."

Mind discipline. Musa عليه السلام said: "No, no, no. Let me tell you — I have certainty. I have faith. I'm thinking about Allah. I know that Allah will take care of me. Allah is very powerful. Allah is with me, and we will be taken care of." He controlled his thoughts. He didn't panic. And then Allah showed Prophet Musa عليه السلام the miracle of actually saving him and his companions.

Mind discipline. Mind discipline. Mind discipline.

A Practical Example: The Referee

And I know the time is running — let me tell you one last example of mind discipline. One of the hardest jobs in soccer is basically the referee who is the linesman. Why? Because he has to monitor the strikers and the defenders at all times during 90 minutes — constantly watching, making sure they don't go offside. All the time. 90 minutes.

One time, when I was getting my referee license, around minute 80 — the last 10 minutes — I just got exhausted. My mind was exhausted. Just tired from constantly moving, observing, and monitoring. I got exhausted. Now that's when mind discipline kicks in: just push through it. Just push through it. The last 10 minutes — keep your focus. Motivate yourself.

And it was interesting — they told us afterwards that they were actually monitoring us in the last 10 minutes of the game, because that is the time when you make the most mistakes. Why? Because your mind will be really exhausted. And that's where they see who has mind discipline and who doesn't. It is about mind discipline.

Addressing Our Community: The Reality of Drug Use Among Youth

And here's the thing — I know that some of us are dealing with things beyond our capabilities. But let me be frank with you. Let me be very frank with you.

Right now, obviously among the youth community, among the elders, among the adults — it is actually an issue that exists in our community. And my amanah is to stand here and to actually express what I'm going through with our youth and our communities, and address these challenges.

A year ago, two of our youth slept and never woke up. And they were engaged in certain types of drugs. It's a reality. Drug issues is actually a reality that we are dealing with, and our youth are exposed to.

And let me tell you what is actually triggering our youth when it comes to drugs — specifically marijuana, because marijuana is a bit tricky. In my conversations among the youth community, I get this kind of question: "Marijuana is not like cocaine. It's not that dangerous. Why do people make a big deal about it?" And then I ask: "What is marijuana giving you?" And they say: "I'm dealing with a little bit of anxiety and depression, and I take marijuana to make myself feel better."

And I always say: Well, the scientific aspect of the danger of marijuana — addictive or not addictive — this is something that scientists and doctors can address. But let me tell you something from the tarbiyah standpoint. You're dealing with a little bit of anxiety and depression, and as a result you go and you take an external factor — marijuana in our case — so you can feel better, calm down, feel better.

The question is: Have you even solved your problem? Have you actually addressed the issues — why are you feeling what you're feeling? Have you even thought about fixing the issues, the root cause of the problem? Or are you just taking care of the symptoms — not the root cause?

And I told them — it's a mindset. Every time you have a little bit of sadness, depression, and anxiety — and guess what, everyone here at some point will go through some form of depression and anxiety. That's fine and that's normal. We will go through a phase of sadness. If the Sahabah and the Prophets went through a phase of sadness, we will be sad at some point. We're humans. But how you address that is the issue.

So I told them: here's the thing. If you are trained at a very young age that every time you encounter a problem, you escape from it and walk toward something else that can "fix" your problem — then that's going to be your mindset as you grow up even more. And when you find issues in your marriage, you will have to confront those issues and solve them. But if you're not trained to solve your problems — if you're trained to escape from your problems — then marijuana, gummies, or whatever is not going to fix your marriage issues. It's not. And every time you go to a workplace and you find some issues and challenges and you're not trained to confront your issues — you'll want to escape. And marijuana, gummies will never fix your issues in your workplace.

It needs you to actually confront these issues, solve your problems, understand the root cause of these problems, and solve them. How do you do this? Mind discipline. Control your thoughts. And these thoughts should lead you to good actions, and eventually you will feel better.

Two Scenarios: Waking Up in the Morning

You wake up in the morning feeling a little bit of depression. You have two scenarios.

Scenario A: You sit in the bed and you give up. You just stay there looking at your phone, going from app to app, spending two or three hours. Then you get up and try to start your day. Well — feelings, actions, thoughts. Your thought is: "I don't want to get up now." And you don't have mind discipline. That leads you to an action — you stayed in your bed. And as a result it affects your feelings. You did not get up. You're still sad. You're still depressed.

Scenario B — Mind discipline: You wake up feeling a little bit of sadness and depression. You don't feel motivated to start your day. And you say: "Ya Allah, I acknowledge all the blessings that You have bestowed upon me this morning. Ya Allah, I'm so grateful for having my children around me. Ya Allah, I'm so grateful that I have my spouse next to me. Ya Allah, I'm so grateful for this shelter. Ya Allah, I'm so grateful for the blessings of being safe in my property." You start now — positive. And now you force yourself to get out of bed, take a cold shower, pray your Fajr salah, and go let the sun hit you, and start your day. Tell me — are you going to feel the same way as in Scenario A? Absolutely not. You controlled your thoughts. You followed them with good actions. And eventually it changed the way you felt.

That's the thing.

An Important Balance: Seeking Help When Needed

And here's the thing — I know that some of us are dealing with things beyond our capabilities. And I'm not here to tell you that only this will solve your problem. No. If you're dealing with an issue that is beyond your capability, you need to actually seek help, and you need to see experts that can take care of you. But be very mindful — because we live in a country that we actually overdo medications. We're not necessarily always in need of medications to solve our problems.

Very, very important point: we should not hurry to just get medications to solve our problems. We should find a coping mechanism within ourselves — Allah has created us with that — to just have that mind discipline, control thoughts, and eventually, inshallah, we will have definitely better feelings.

I'm not dismissing anyone who is really going through major depression. May Allah alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters who are going through really difficult times right now. I ask Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ to relieve their pain, ya Rabbal Alameen. I never, ever simplify or dismiss those who are going through difficult times. But I'm saying that most of the cases of the youth and the elders — they are sometimes going through a sort of anxiety and depression where they need to just pause for a second before hurrying to get a drug. Just wait. And practice the sunnah of Prophet ﷺ and see if you can actually go through it.

May Allah guide me and you to لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ, to the sunnah of our Habib ﷺ.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ

Second Khutbah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

Reminder: Yawm Ashura

Just a reminder — this Tuesday is Yawm Ashura. Yawm Ashura is the day where Allah saved Musa عليه السلام. And it was highly recommended from the Prophet ﷺ to fast this day and to follow it with one day after, or one day before. To get the reward of the promise of our Prophet ﷺ — as he said that Allah will wipe out our sins for the previous year if we would sincerely fast this day of Yawm Ashura, inshallah.

And this is also the day that al-Husayn رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ was martyred — and that is a sad day for the Muslims as well, where all of us should remember and remind ourselves that yes, al-Husayn رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ is one of the shuhada. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Al-Husayn is part of me, and I am part of al-Husayn." (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 144)

We should also remember this inshallah. But more importantly, on this day we should also have tawsi'ah for our families. The Prophet ﷺ has asked us to do this. What does tawsi'ah mean? It means that you actually bring something special for your family — take them out, give them a special dinner. That is the tawsi'ah that the Prophet ﷺ has also said we should practice on this day, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ ۖ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا