Don’t Wait to Be Rich to Give

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْهُ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَأَحْسَنَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

Don't Wait to Be Rich to Give

Brothers and sisters in Islam, today our khutbah is about caring for the ummah. And we want to look at it through the best example and through the example of our role model, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And let's look at the moment the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ stepped into the city of Al-Madinah, the kinds of responsibilities that were upon him and the people that were under his leadership.

The Four Categories of Responsibility in Madinah

And we can break them into four categories, the last one coming later — two years later.

1. The Ansar

The first category: the Muslims that are under the leadership of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and under his responsibility. We have the Ansar, their hosts in Madinah, and their two large tribes known as Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj. Two years before the Hijrah, there was a battle between them — there was bloodshed. So the wounds were still fresh and they could break out into fighting again. And they almost did when the Jews of Madinah goaded them into fighting each other, and they almost broke out into a fight, except the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ calmed them down and admonished them.

2. The Muhajireen

Then he has the Muhajireen who came with him from Mecca. Now the Madinans were farmers — that's the main skill there. And the Meccans don't have farming and they don't have this skill. So they're coming without homes, without money, and without the necessary skills to live, earn, and survive there. And the danger behind that is that they can become this group labeled and known as "the refugees," always living in squalor and in bad conditions.

And it reminds me of a time I was living in the Caucasus region — it was one of the former Russian federations. And we passed by these old Russian apartment buildings, tons of them standing tall. And they told me that's where the refugees live. That country had a war in the south, so the people from their own country — same race, same language, from amongst them — were brought to the capital and put in these apartment buildings. And they're living in poverty. There's crime, sewage, the worst living conditions. So I asked, how long had they been living there? He said, for 15 years. For 15 years they're labeled as "the refugees" and they live in poverty and they have not integrated into the society — and they're from the same people, same language, same race, everything — and they're still labeled as refugees.

And Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ fixed this problem in 6 months. In 6 months. He instituted the mu'akha. So an Ansari would become a brother of one of the Muhajireen. He would share his home and his wealth with him, teach him the skills he needed — make him work in the farm, teach him the skills necessary. To the point that in these early days, if your brother from the mu'akha died, you would inherit him. And that's how quickly the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was able to solve this.

He still has the Muslims in Abyssinia — they're still there and they only came back after the conquering of Khaybar. There are 80 of them there, still under his responsibility and leadership. He's still thinking of them and when is the best time to bring them back.

And then there were other Muslims — some small pockets of Muslims in Yemen, in the tribe of Ghifar, in the tribe of Aslam. And then there were the Muslims that were still in Mecca — those were the ones living in the worst conditions, the ones still being persecuted.

3. The Mushrikeen, Bedouins, Quraysh, and Jews of Madinah

Then we go to the next category: the mushrikeen. There are many mushrikeen in Al-Madinah. The whole city of Al-Madinah did not come out welcoming the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — that was the Muslims from amongst that group. But there were still many mushrikeen in the city.

And then we have the Bedouins that live around Madinah — they were enemies to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and to Islam, and also thieves and highway robbers. Then there were large tribes like Juhayna and Muzayna, enemies to Islam as well, and a real threat that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had to keep an eye on.

Then you have the Quraysh. Yes, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ moved away from them and there was a distance between them, but they were still out to get him — as you know from history: the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, Al-Khandaq, and so on.

Then you have the Jews of Madinah. The city of Al-Madinah had three large Jewish tribes: Banu Nadir, Banu Qaynuqa', and Banu Qurayza. For one, they controlled the markets — and they were the weapons dealers. So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ could not build a powerful nation if the finances and the economics were not in their hands. So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had people going around the city of Madinah looking for an appropriate space to make into their own market. A man came and called the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and said, "I found an excellent spot." The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ went and looked at it, liked it, stamped the ground with his foot, and said, "This is going to be our market — a place of buying and selling."

And he also needed to give da'wah to the Jews of Madinah, and because of their numbers and their power, he needed to come to some kind of agreement. And in no time, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ wrote the Constitution of Madinah — containing the dealings between the different peoples of the city, the code of conduct, and the rights that everyone has.

4. The Hypocrites

Then two years later, we have a fourth category that didn't exist at the time — and those were the hypocrites, which proved to be the most challenging, because they look like us and only Allah knows what is in their hearts.

Building the Ummah: The Masjid at the Center

Part of the reason behind the quick success of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is definitely that he was dealing with sincere believers. And as you hear in the analysis many times — in Mecca, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ built up the individual. In Madinah, still building the individual, but he built the nation, he built the city, he built the ummah. And that's why the first thing the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ did when he moved to Madinah was to build them a learning center. This is where he would grow these individuals. And that's why he built the masjid first.

And when you compare the old Islamic cities — their architecture — to the modern cities, you find that modern cities have all roads leading to downtown. And at downtown, what's the important thing? The central business district. All the buildings where all the money is. Or all the roads leading to one big circle in the center of town, and in the middle of that roundabout, the statue of the founder, the first president, the current president — things like that.

Look at the construction of the city of Al-Basra in Iraq — it was built and started at the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab. They had a man stand in the middle of the area where they were going to build the city of Al-Basra, and he shot arrows in different directions. These arrows typically fall within the same distance — that became the perimeter of the city. And the area in the middle where he shot the arrows from — that's the center of the city. And what did they put in the center immediately? First thing: they built the masjid. The masjid was a pivotal and important part — they started with that, and it was the middle of the city.

The Prophet's Care for His Ummah

So then we look at the Prophet's صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ care for his ummah. Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ one time was crying so intensely. So they asked him, "Why are you crying?" He said:

Twice he says: "I am crying for my ummah." And then Jibreel عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام — Allah calls Jibreel and tells him: even though I am aware of what is going on, go and ask Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ what is making him cry. And if Allah already knows, why send Jibreel to ask? Because there is a lot of care and comfort when someone asks you about your concern, asks you about your feelings, asks you about what is troubling you. So Jibreel comes to him and the Prophet gives him the same answer. So Jibreel comes back with the answer to Allah. Then Allah says to tell the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

"We are going to please you concerning your ummah and We are not going to cause you any displeasure concerning them."

The Day of Judgment: أُمَّتِي يَا رَبِّ

From the care of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — on the Day of Judgment, when people try to intercede with the Prophets, or ask the Prophets to intercede with Allah, just to start the Day of Judgment — meaning to start the judgment specifically — every Prophet excuses himself and says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4712; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 479)

"Today I just care about myself." Can you imagine — Ibrahim عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام, the Khalil of Allah, on that day says نَفْسِي نَفْسِي — "I am just worried about myself." Musa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام says that. Adam عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام says that. All the Prophets of Allah — Nuh عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام — they are all saying that. And then they go to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And as you all know, he prostrates under the Throne of Allah. And Allah will inspire him with praises that he doesn't yet know — He'll inspire him at that moment. And then Allah will say:

"Lift your head. Ask and it will be given to you, and intercede and intercession will be granted for you." And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ puts his head up. And the first thing he will say:

The day when all of creation is saying نَفْسِي نَفْسِي, and Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is saying أُمَّتِي أُمَّتِي. And as you all know from the famous hadith — every Prophet of Allah has been given a du'a that will never be returned, that will always be answered. And Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ explained that and he said: but I did not use my du'a here in this dunya — I saved it for my ummah on the Day of Judgment. That is the level of care the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had for his ummah.

The Du'a for Aisha — and for the Entire Ummah

And in a beautiful hadith, Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was sitting with Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا. So she asked him, "Ya Rasulallah, make du'a for me." So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

"O Allah, forgive Aisha her past sins and her later sins, and what she conceals and what she reveals." There is nothing left — past sins forgiven, future sins forgiven, what you conceal that people don't know about — the private sins that only Allah knows about — and the ones done publicly or openly: all of them forgiven.

So Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا was so happy with this du'a that she started to laugh from happiness. So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ asked her:

"Does my du'a make you happy?" She said:

"And why wouldn't this du'a of yours make me happy, ya Rasulallah?" And then look at what the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said. He swore by Allah:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 24595)

"By Allah, that is the du'a I make for my entire ummah in every single prayer." This is the care. This is the love from the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

The Ummah Is One Body

And the same care for the ummah transfers to us. And we know the famous ahadith — Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 481; Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 85)

So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ gave this analogy: the believers to each other are like a structure. A structure, a building, a house will not stand together unless they are all connected and all supporting one another. So he is saying — in that same way, this is how the believers should be regarding one another.

And he gave the other famous analogy of how the ummah is like one body — and if one part of the body has an injury or an ailment, the rest of the body responds with fever and with staying up at night, lack of sleep. So we should be the same way, just like a body reacting to one another.

And one of the interesting things about this word ummah is that it refers to — and you've never heard of a collection of people referred to in the past, the present, and the future. We feel that we are one with the ummah of the past, the ummah of today, and the future ummah — people that we don't know yet — but we still feel we are one group and a part of them.

The State of the Muslim World — Focus on Syria

So we heard of what happened in Rohingya, and people responded. We hear of what is going on in Gaza, and people respond. In Sudan, maybe not as much. In Yemen, people responded. And then Syria has been freed — walhamdulillah. So many of us took Syria off the list. And I wanted to focus a little bit on Syria.

Some statistics about that country. First of all, 90% of the population is living below the poverty line. 90%. And there are 13.7 million Syrians outside of Syria who are trying to return. They need help and money to come back to their homeland. But once they get to their homeland, what are they going to receive? There needs to be an economy, there need to be jobs, there need to be homes. And speaking of homes — 3 million homes have been destroyed in Syria. 3 million. And that 3 million has displaced 15 million people who don't have a place to stay.

We have about 1.2 million orphans in Syria. And there are 2.4 million children who don't go to school. Because 9,500 schools — 50% of all schools in Syria — have been absolutely destroyed and demolished. And you understand what that means when a generation of children doesn't go to school. That means to fix that problem, you are going to need 2, 3 generations. Because this group now will go through life uneducated — they are with you in the demographic — until they die off, and only then do you finally have an entire population that is educated.

So Syria has been freed, alhamdulillah. But it is still on the list. It still has a lot of problems. And a lot of times people like action items in a khutbah. If anyone feels they want to do something for Syria — I was last weekend with a group called Syrian Forum USA. They do exceptional work. There are many areas where the majority — or 100% — of your donation goes straight to the poor. They have the infrastructure set up. They don't even put orphans in homes; they find families for them. They don't just hand out packages of food — they help people build sustainable lives. You know the old saying about teaching someone to fish versus handing them a fish? They're thinking long-term. So if any of you feel you want to do something for Syria, I strongly recommend Syrian Forum USA.

The Muslims in America — Allah has blessed us that we are in excellent positions to be able to help people all over the world. And we help people all over the world primarily with our wealth. We don't physically have to go to these war-torn areas — we can help them from the comfort of our homes with our wealth. And the wealth of the Muslim ummah is immense. If you ask about the most cash-rich area in the world, it is the Middle East. One of the brothers here in Southeast Houston calculated and estimated how much money the Muslims in Southeast Houston make per year — not the Muslims in Houston, just the ones in Southeast Houston — and he calculated that we collectively make close to one billion dollars a year. And this is not counting the rest of Houston, not counting the Muslims in Chicago, or the Muslims in Canada, the USA, the UK, and all that. Plus the wealth we have in the Middle East — it should not have been a problem. It should not be a problem.

With that — أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الذُّنُوبِ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ — Ask Allah for His forgiveness. Indeed, those who ask for His forgiveness shall prosper.

Second Khutbah: Two Things That Make Your Donation Greater

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ الْأَمِينِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ

I wanted to close off by mentioning two things concerning giving money. A lot of times when people think of donating and giving, they think of what they have in excess — what extra money they're not in need of or not putting aside for something specific. But there are two things that will make your donation greater in reward.

1. Al-Ithar — Preferring Others Over Yourself

One of them is al-ithar — الْإِيثَار. Al-ithar is when you prefer others above yourself. Which means you are in need, but you are going to give up, and you are going to prefer your brother and sister in need over yourself. And whenever you give and you yourself are in need of it, it is greater in reward.

And many times we hear of millionaires and how much they've been donating — in the millions — like Bill Gates who donated 50 billion. How can I ever reach that? You can reach that. Because the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1419; Sahih Muslim, Book 12, Hadith 71)

"The best sadaqah is what you give when you are still in good health" — because it is very easy, brothers and sisters — and may Allah grant you good health — it is very easy if the doctor calls you and says you have one month left to live to give your car, all your clothes, every penny in your pocket. But when you are healthy, you are not expecting anything, it is harder to give. And when you give at that point, it is greater.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said تَأْمُلُ الْغِنَى وَتَخْشَى الْفَقْرَ — you are hoping to become wealthy and rich, you want to amass the wealth, and you are afraid of becoming poor. And that is where you win over the millionaire. The millionaire can give a million and he still has 50 million left. So he does not fear poverty. But some of us — if we give a thousand, that is going to affect the budget for the month. So that person gives and fears poverty, fears not being able to make this bill or the other bill. So the reward is greater. It is not always about giving what is in excess — it is about preferring someone else, and the calamity and urgency of others over that of yourself.

2. Going Out of Your Way to Earn Something Just to Give

The other thing is what happened in the Battle of Tabuk. And the Battle of Tabuk was an amazing example of everyone wanting to give. This was at a difficult time — before the harvest, so the money was not even there yet. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ needed people to fundraise and give for the army of Tabuk. And we have people like Uthman ibn Affan who stood up and donated a hundred camels — not just a hundred camels, but بِأَقْتَابِهَا وَأَحْلَاسِهَا — with the saddles, with the saddle cloth, with the reins, the ropes, full and ready to go. And then the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ asked:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3700; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 520)

Then Uthman رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ got up again — وَعَلَيَّ مِئَةٌ أُخْرَى بِأَقْتَابِهَا وَأَحْلَاسِهَا — and then he got up seven times, and there are narrations where he got up ten times, each time giving a hundred. And Abu Bakr gave everything that he had, and famously Umar gave half of everything that he had.

But that's not our main point here. Our point is that there were some companions who didn't have anything, and they still wanted to give. And this is something beautiful — and young people especially in the audience should listen to this. So some of the companions went and got a part-time job. One companion went out and carried things — حَمَّلَ — he carried things in the market, from one place to another. He would carry your vegetables or whatever to your home, and then you would give him a little something. So he went and got a part-time job and he earned a mudd — two handfuls of dates. He went and got that job, and he needed the food for his family and he was hungry. But he came and got that job just so he could give something.

So how can we apply this? This is a challenge for the youth in the audience. In America, the truth is you can get a part-time job — just 20 hours a week. And no matter what your schedule is, you can get a job 20 hours a week. Just work somewhere — a halal fast food place, whatever it is. And then, that money — your job is not to buy accessories for your phone. You get that job just so you can donate somewhere in the world. Do that. Just donate somewhere in the world. And then quit. Work for a month, two months, three months — whatever it is. And then quit. It won't take over your life. But it is training you to be caring for the ummah.

And it is so sad sometimes at fundraisers — everyone is expecting the millionaires to give, or the wealthy to give. But the average people give more. And if you look at all the masajid that are built in North America, every one of them has a story — it's the cab drivers, the architects, and everyone just donating and donating over the years that built all of this. Very rarely does a millionaire just walk in and say, "Cancel the fundraiser, I'm taking care of everything." It's all about everyone giving a little bit.

And encourage your sons and daughters to do something like that — to sell something or work part-time just so they can give, so they can start to feel this responsibility and this care for the ummah.

Closing Du'as

With that, we ask Allah to make us of those who recognize the truth as clear truth and follow it, and to make us of those who recognize falsehood as clear falsehood and abstain from it.

وَقُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ