Have We Forsaken You?

Have We Forsaken You?

All praise is due to Allah, our Creator, the Originator and Designer of the Heavens and the earth, and upon the best of creation, Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, we send our salutations upon him, his family, his companions, and all those that follow them in goodness till the end of times. اللهم اجعلنا منهم.

The Story of Imam Abu Hanifa and His Neighbor

My dear brothers and sisters, Imam Abu Hanifa رحمه الله used to have a neighbor that would visit the tavern every night, drunk. He would be his neighbor, and of course the homes back then — you could still hear your neighbors, the walls were thin, they're not as they are today. And every single time, Imam Abu Hanifa would be praying Qiyamul Layl, and for years, for decades, he would pray Salatul Fajr with the wudu of Isha. Can you imagine?

And when he would pray Qiyamul Layl, he would hear this young man — this neighbor of his — coming drunk, and singing this line of poetry:

"They have forsaken me — and what a young man they have forsaken! They have abandoned me — and what a young man they have abandoned."

He was broken inside. He did not have a mentor. He did not have that light, that guide in his life.

And Abu Hanifa one night notices his neighbor is not there — he's not singing those lines of poetry. So the next day he inquires: where is that young man, where is that neighbor of mine? I didn't hear him last night. And he finds out that the night patrol took him and imprisoned him. So Abu Hanifa, to fulfill the rights of his neighbor, went to the governor. And of course he has such a high station, being the great Imam and scholar he was. The governor asked him: what was his name? He said: all I know of him is that he's a shoemaker. So the governor, for the sake of Abu Hanifa, released all of the prisoners of that night.

And when Abu Hanifa saw that young man, he came to him and he said:

"Oh young man — did we abandon you? Did we leave you? Have we forsaken you?"

And this is the voice of many young men and many young women that are suffering inside. They are broken. They need someone to guide them to Islam. They need someone to take them with love — not that when they're in the mud, we look at them and mock them like religious thugs and say: "Look at this sister, she doesn't wear hijab. Look at this brother, he smokes. Look at them, I'm much better." No. Our religious scholars, our ulema, and the way of our Salaf, and the way of our beloved messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم — to go in the mud with them, to pick them out and clean them up. That is the way of Islam, and that was the way of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

So when we ask ourselves, and we see the many young men and young women today that are lost — ask yourself: have we forsaken them?

Have We Forsaken the People of Gaza?

When we think of the people of Gaza, and we think of the orphans, and we think of the mothers, and we think of all those that are displaced — look yourself in the mirror, and I must look myself in the mirror: can we say that we haven't forsaken them? Can we say that we haven't forsaken them — when those small children have nothing to say except:

We ask Allah that whilst this ummah is silent — a deafening silence — that, Ya Allah, You be in their aid, Ya Rabb al-'Alamin. Ya Allah, whilst this ummah is silent, that You be in their aid, Ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

The Accessibility of the Prophet

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — Allah describes him in the Quran: they would mock him and say, "What is with this messenger that eats food like the rest of people? He's a messenger of God — he eats like regular people? And he walks in the marketplace? This is a messenger?" And Allah reveals a verse saying: this was the quality of the messengers. The messengers were not isolated. The prophets of Allah did not live in caves. They were accessible to their people. And Allah says about them that they would walk in the marketplaces. The Mufassirun, commenting on this, mentioned that meant that they were accessible to the people — they knew the needs of the people because they were amongst them, they were with them.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — to the point that young servant girls would come to the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام, they would take him by his hand — can you imagine? Rasulullah, Sayyid Walad Adam — the master of the children of Adam. Is there anyone more important than him? Is there anyone that has more responsibilities than him صلى الله عليه وسلم? Young servant girls would take him by his hand to different places to fulfill their needs, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would go with them and would not refuse.

Look at the humility:

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم never said "no" except in his tashahud — and were it not for the tashahud, all of his no's would become yes.

Instead of saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّه — you see, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was accessible. He was fulfilling the needs of his community. And this is exactly what he ingrained in the Sahaba, and what we must ingrain in ourselves and in our communities.

Brotherhood and Sisterhood in Islam

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would teach the companions:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2442; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2580)

"A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim." And Allah says: إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ — "You are but brothers." Not enemies. You have the rights of brotherhood and sisterhood to one another.

لَا يَظْلِمُهُ — He does not oppress him. Do not think that oppression can only occur from nations — it can also occur from us when we lie, when we cheat, when we haggle, when we wrong our brothers and sisters. وَلَا يُسْلِمُهُ — And he does not leave him to the oppression of others. He stands up. He becomes the voice of the voiceless. He speaks for the people of Gaza. وَلَا يَخْذُلُهُ — And he does not abandon him.

وَمَنْ كَانَ فِي حَاجَةِ أَخِيهِ كَانَ اللَّهُ فِي حَاجَتِهِ — And whoever is in the need of his brother, Allah will be in his time of need. Allah will be with him in his time of need.

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم continues: وَمَنْ فَرَّجَ عَنْ مُسْلِمٍ كُرْبَةً فَرَّجَ اللَّهُ بِهَا عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ — If you remove a difficulty from your Muslim brother or sister — you pay that bill of theirs, you help them with their move, you help them with their groceries, you help them with whatever it may be — Allah on that day, when you will need His aid and you will need His support, He will remove the difficulty for you.

وَمَنْ سَتَرَ مُسْلِمًا سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ — And whoever covers the faults of a Muslim, Allah will cover their faults on the Day of Judgment.

My dear brothers, this is what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ingrained in the Sahaba. He taught them this. He lived it صلى الله عليه وسلم.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2699)

"And Allah is in the aid of His servant so long as he is in the aid of his Muslim brother or sister."

The Ansari Who Preferred His Guest Over Himself

The Sahaba رضي الله عنهم understood this. They lived this. In one instance, a Sahabi had come to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم complaining of his hunger. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looked around and asked his family if there was any food in his own home — he started with himself. There was nothing, nothing in his home صلى الله عليه وسلم to give. So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم announced: "Who will host this man, so that Allah will show mercy to them?"

One of the Ansar said: "Ya Rasulullah, I will do it! I will do it!" He rushes to his family, his wife, and he says: "Tonight we have a guest of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم coming — don't hold anything back. Whatever we have, we're going to give everything." And she responds: "We don't have food even for ourselves — just enough to feed our children."

So what did they do? This couple — this husband and wife — the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم were different, my brothers. They were different, my sisters. They planned: put the children to sleep, have the guest come, turn off the lantern, turn off the light — and the food would be there so the guest doesn't feel as though he's the only one eating. He doesn't know. So the guest ate to his fill, whilst the couple — the Sahabi and the Sahabiya — they stayed hungry. The children stayed hungry.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the next day — he saw that man and said: "Allah was amazed at what had occurred. Allah was pleased with this." And the ayah was revealed:

"They would prefer others over themselves even if they had a dire and desperate need."

This was the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم. This was their akhlaq. This was their mannerisms and character that they had with one another. That's why their communities were communities of love and care. They didn't do it for the dunya — they did it for Allah.

Feeding Others for the Sake of Allah

Allah describes the righteous in Surah al-Insan — the Abrar:

"They would feed food, despite a love and desire and need for it, to the poor, to the orphan, and to the captive." Different levels of need.

Why? For the dunya? Many of us — many Muslims — have become very transactional with how they deal with other Muslims. "I'm only going to support if there's some benefit for me. I'm only going to accept this phone call and text this brother back if there's some benefit for me. I'm only going to help if in the future I know there's going to be some transaction." That's a dunya way of thinking about this. We're supposed to help for the sake of Allah — because when you help someone, know that when you are in a time of need, Allah will send help.

So what does Allah say?

"We only feed you for the sake of Allah. We do not want any reward from you, nor any praise."

And Allah uses the emphatic way of describing praise — why? Because when you are generous and you help your brother, of course he's going to give thanks.

Just a few days ago I saw a video of a young Gazan boy, and an American soldier was mentioning that he had traveled several, several kilometers for just some rice and some lentils — and when he got that small amount, he started to kiss his hand and kiss his cheeks. This is the people of Gaza. They are really living the akhlaq of what Muslims should look like. They are showing us what is iman. They are showing us what is yaqeen. They are showing us what is tawakkul in Allah. And preferring others over themselves — can we say that about ourselves?

وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ — They give even though they want it. They prefer others over themselves. This was the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم.

Be Like Abu Bakr

When Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه — at a time where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had asked: "Who amongst you is fasting today?" Abu Bakr said: "Me." "Who amongst you visited a janazah today?" "Me." "Who amongst you visited a sick person?" "Me." "Who amongst you fed a miskeen, fed a poor person?" Abu Bakr, every single time he said: أنا، أنا، أنا — "I, I, I."

My dear brothers, my dear sisters — let's be like Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه. Let's be like Abu Bakr.

أقول ما تسمعون، أستغفر الله لي ولكم ونساء المسلمين، فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم

Second Part of the Khutbah: Umar Follows Abu Bakr

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا ونبينا وحبيبنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين. رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي

I will leave you all with one story — hopefully this story penetrates your heart.

Umar رضي الله عنه — every time he would pray behind Abu Bakr in Salatul Fajr, he would notice that Abu Bakr goes in a direction that's not his home, that's not his business — he goes off into the desert, every single day. Where is he going?

So Umar رضي الله عنه, curious — because whatever Abu Bakr does, he's doing something special. As high as Umar was, Abu Bakr was leagues above him — رضي الله عنهم, may Allah be pleased with all of the Sahaba.

Umar followed him one day, kept a distance, and he saw that Abu Bakr entered an old, poor (miskeen) home. And Umar waited — for hours, hours — until Abu Bakr finally left. He went there. He knocks. And he sees an elderly, blind woman.

"مَا شَأْنُكِ يَا أَمَةَ اللَّه؟" — "What is your affair, O servant of Allah?"

She mentions that she is an elderly, blind woman and has orphaned children with her — no support. So he asked: "Who is that sheikh that comes and visits you?" She said: "I don't even know his name. I don't know who he is." What does he do? She responds: "He comes every day. He cleans. He cooks. He grinds the grain. He bakes the bread. And he takes care of all of our needs." So he asked: "He does this every single day?" And she responds: "Yes, every single day." He inquires: "Does he ask — does he request a payment for it? Does he get anything out of it?" She said: "No."

Umar رضي الله عنه — in tears, he trembles on his knees, and he says:

"You have made that responsibility very difficult, you have set the standard so high, Ya Abu Bakr, that everyone that comes after you is going to have a very difficult time."

This was the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم. They were fulfilling the needs of others.

Iman Is in How You Treat Others

My dear brothers and sisters, iman is not just coming to the masjid, and salah, and sawm. Iman is also in how you treat others. Allah says:

"Have you seen the one who denies the final judgment? It is he who pushes away and repulses the orphan."

"What made you go into the Hellfire?" They said: "We did not give food to the miskeen — we did not give food to the poor."

Action Item

So — action item. What you can do this week, and going forward: look for someone in need. Find someone that needs your support. Help them. Visit a sick person. Call your family. Call your relatives. See someone who is in need, and fulfill that need.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2699)

We ask Allah to be with the people of Gaza. We ask Allah to make us from those that feed others and find Allah's reward there. We ask Allah to make us from those that give others drink and find the reward of Allah there. We ask Allah to make us from those that visit the sick, that attend the janazah, and find the reward of Allah there. We ask Allah to be with the people of Gaza, and to grant them relief, victory, and steadfastness. آمين يا رب العالمين.