How to Celebrate Success

Opening — Khutbah Introduction

And fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its wife. And He spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, about whom you ask, and the most Merciful. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you. O you who have believed, fear Allah. Fear Allah and say a firm word that will amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly won a great victory.

As for what follows, we have confirmed the hadith of the Book of Allah. And the best guide is the guide of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

And the worst of affairs are the newly invented matters, and every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

The Conquest of Mecca — Fath Makkah

The Road to Mecca

In the 8th year after hijrah, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told his companions in Medina to prepare themselves to go out for battle. And in doing so — in this particular battle, while all battles generally there's an aura of secrecy — in this battle particularly, no one, absolutely no one knew the plans of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, including his own wife and his closest companions like Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.

He, peace and blessings be upon him, even sent an expedition to the north, like a small scouting mission. And so some people thought maybe he was going after the Battle of Mu'tah to have a second encounter. Until the day was decided — the day before they set out — the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told them: we are going to Mecca.

The Breaking of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

He told the Muslims that we are going to Mecca. Now, why would he go to Mecca? There was a treaty in place between the Quraysh and the Muslims known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Many of you are familiar with it. But what happened was one of the tribes allied with the Quraysh — they went to the Quraysh and said, we want to attack this tribe allied to the Muslims. Both live on the outskirts of Mecca. And the Quraysh gave their approval, anticipating that it will be a raid at night, stealing some camels and horses and the like — nothing too intense, no loss of life, no one will know, just a typical raid that happens.

And so Banu Bakr, the tribe allied with the Quraysh, goes ahead and attacks Banu Khuza'ah. But when they did so, it didn't go as planned. The women and the children were alerted. People woke up, and then they defended themselves. And what ended up happening is over 20, including women and children, were killed from Banu Khuza'ah. And it was a break of the treaty.

Even one of Banu Khuza'ah escaped and fled into Mecca, and went into the boundaries of the Haram. And within the Haram, you cannot be attacked — it's a sanctified place. Yet he was killed within the boundaries of the Haram, which is a big no-no. So a massive mistake upon a massive mistake, and news reaches the Prophet ﷺ after their leader comes to him with 40 from his tribe, and they recite lines of poetry explaining what happened, and how their tribe was attacked in the night, and they were killed while they were praying and the like.

The Army of 10,000 Marches

And so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, finally, after some time passed, the news was announced that we're going to Mecca. And an army of 10,000 is gathered, and they head out to Mecca in the month of Ramadan, and they reach there in nine days.

Now when they camped outside Mecca, news had reached Mecca that perhaps an army is coming — they don't know who, and they're not sure what exactly the details are. So Abu Sufyan comes out. And Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ who had just embraced Islam, actually went into Mecca and meets Abu Sufyan, and Abu Sufyan — now the leader of Quraysh — is brought to the Prophet ﷺ. And after some back and forth, and some conversations between the two, Abu Sufyan, finally, after decades of opposing the Prophet ﷺ — leading Uhud, leading Ahzab, being the leader of the enemies against the Prophet — now embraces Islam.

And so Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet who also had just embraced Islam, he tells the Messenger of Allah: give him something — Abu Sufyan is a leader. So the Prophet ﷺ tells him — and look at, subhanAllah, the mercy of the Messenger of Allah, despite him being the leader of the opposition to him for so long — he says: anyone who comes into your house will be safe. But he first said: anyone who's within the Haram, once we enter, anyone within the Haram boundaries is safe. And anyone who stays in their own home — meaning they don't come out to fight — they will be safe. But he also gave him a special recognition: anyone who comes to your house will also be safe.

There are people in Mecca who may not live there, and so they can go to Abu Sufyan's house if they don't go to the Haram. But Abu Sufyan goes into Mecca and he sees this army of the Muslims — the shining armor, the fires that are lit, this massive 10,000 strong. And he goes into Mecca and he tells the people: you have no chance, you have no chance. So whoever comes to my house is safe. He conveniently leaves out the other two, because he wants to feel special. Somebody tells him: how can we all fit inside your house? And he says: okay, if you go to the Haram you're safe, or you stay in your house you're safe.

Entering Mecca — A Conqueror Humbled

And so the next day comes, and the Prophet ﷺ divides the army into three. One comes in from the east, one comes in from the west, and he ﷺ from the middle — they enter into Mecca. And for the most part, the people of Quraysh knew that there was nothing they could do, and they stayed within their homes. A few tried to fight back and were handled. And the Prophet ﷺ gave very clear instructions: do not kill anyone, do not hurt anyone, unless you are forced to do so.

An army coming in after 8 years of battle, and prior to the 8 years, 13 years of difficulty, and torture, and abuse, and neglect, and abductions, and being driven out of their homes — all of that. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, now catching them by surprise, says: do not harm anyone.

And so he comes into Mecca. He was wearing a red turban ﷺ. And his head was lowered — the narrations say that his beard was almost touching the hump of the camel he was riding. A conqueror, with essentially zero bloodshed — humbled.

At the Ka'bah — Truth Prevails Over Falsehood

And the first thing he does is he goes to the Ka'bah. And he begins performing tawaf on his camel around the House of Allah. And he takes his stick and he points to the idols, and he says:

Truth has been established, and falsehood has vanished. For indeed falsehood is something that will not last.

And with each time he's pointing to an idol, the idols are coming down — and there are over 300 idols around the Ka'bah. And the Quraysh — the people of Mecca — they know: if you're within the Haram, you're safe. And so people start coming into the Haram and witnessing what they're seeing.

The Messenger of Allah — the one who they knew as الصَّادِقُ الْأَمِينُ — the truthful and the trustworthy. The one who they would turn to when they had issues and disputes amongst themselves. The one who his own enemies would know that they would get their trust back — even when he made hijrah, he left Ali in his bed to give them their trusts back. They're seeing him with their own eyes now. Many of them had fought him on the battlefield. And now they're seeing him going around the Ka'bah, knocking down the idols.

And then once he did so, he went inside the Ka'bah. And he purified the Ka'bah as well from the idols. And then he comes out, and now the Haram is full — everybody's there.

The Address at the Ka'bah

And he comes outside of the door of the Ka'bah, and he addresses the thousands who are now waiting and listening, and he says:

There is absolutely no one worthy of worship but Allah. He is One. He fulfilled His promise. He gave victory to His slave. And He defeated the confederates — alone. There is no god worthy of worship but Allah.

And then he says: every matter of jahiliyyah, every affair of jahiliyyah is abolished — except for two: sadanah and siqayah. Sadanah is those who bear the keys of the Ka'bah, which stayed with Bani Abd al-Dar. And siqayah — providing water to the pilgrims who come for Hajj. Those are two practices that will stay. Everything else has been abolished.

And then he goes on to say: and all the arrogance of jahiliyyah has been abolished — meaning the tribalism and the ties based on tribe and not on brotherhood. He says: all of you are from Adam. And Adam is from dust. Then he recited the verse in Surah Al-Hujurat:

O mankind, We have indeed created you from a male and a female and made you into different nations and tribes so that you may get to know one another. Indeed the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the one with the most taqwa. And indeed Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.

The General Amnesty — "Go, You Are Free"

And then he says:

O people of Quraysh — what do you think I will do to you?

This is the moment. Their fate is now in the hands of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The man they opposed for so long and whom they thought they would be victorious over. They are now humbled and awaiting the decision — what will happen to them? If you're giving a fair answer, you would say: I think you're going to execute all of us — for that is what they deserved. But they say:

We think you'll do good. You are a generous man — our brother, and the son of a generous brother.

And so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ says, in the famous statement:

Go — you are free. (Sirah Ibn Hisham; referenced in Bayhaqi's Dala'il al-Nubuwwah)

And he says a statement that Yusuf ﷺ said to his brothers:

There is no blame upon you today.

How merciful. How merciful. He has the power. He has the reason. His daughter died as a result of the attack of the Quraysh upon her when she tried to make hijrah. His own daughter was killed by them. His wife Khadijah died at the end of the boycott. All these images that could be going through his mind — right around the Ka'bah, on the walls where they would torture the Muslims.

When Ibn Mas'ud, the first companion to ever recite the Qur'an publicly, stands in front of the Ka'bah and recites:

The Quraysh did not accept the name Al-Rahman — they believed in Allah but disbelieved in Al-Rahman:

And Ibn Mas'ud, he begins reciting Al-Rahman, and they beat him so severely that he fell into a coma-like state. All these scenes could be going through the mind of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Yet he says: go, you are free.

And thus Mecca was conquered by the Muslims — with no prisoners, no booty of war taken back, all the belongings and livelihood that the muhajirun had lost left untouched, no bloodshed. And he himself comes in as a conqueror — but he's humbled.

On the Mountain of Safa

SubhanAllah — he then goes to the mountain of Safa. The same mountain those who come back from Hajj stood on 7 times, 14 times, 21 times, depending on how many times you do Umrah. The same mountain the Prophet ﷺ went to when he gave his first public proclamation. And Abu Lahab — his own uncle — rejected him, saying:

May evil befall you for the rest of the day. Is this why you gathered us — to tell us about Allah? To tell us about the Akhirah?

The same mountain — fast forward almost 20 years later — and he's standing there and all of the people of Quraysh are coming and embracing Islam one after another. You see the culmination, and the difference between the two. From that moment in the Seerah when Abu Lahab attacked him, you fast forward 18 years later to when the Prophet ﷺ is now victorious.

Second Part of the Khutbah — Surah An-Nasr and the Lesson of Humility

The Prophet's Du'a After Victory

Towards the end of the life of the Prophet ﷺ, he used to frequently recite this du'a. He would say:

How perfect is Allah and with His praises I continue. I ask Allah for forgiveness and I turn to Him in repentance.

So Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, says: O Messenger of Allah, I see that you are saying this du'a so often — you keep repeating it. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ says:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 39, Hadith 6858)

My Lord has told me that I will see a sign in my ummah. And when I see that sign, then I am to praise Allah and to ask Allah for forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. And I have seen that sign.

Then he recited the surah:

When the help of Allah and the victory comes, and you see people entering into the religion of Allah in groups — then praise your Lord and seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is ever-accepting of repentance.

And so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: I saw that sign on that day. And so I know now that my time is coming to an end. That's why he said in another narration:

My death has been announced to me.

When this surah was revealed — and it was the last complete surah to be revealed in the life of the Prophet ﷺ — he said: I knew that my death was announced to me by virtue of this surah. Because Abu Bakr — when this surah was revealed — he began crying and weeping. Because he knew: if the mission of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is complete, that means now his time has come to move on to the next life. So he ﷺ soon passed away thereafter.

SubhanAllah — The Qur'anic Placement

And you see the culmination, even subhanAllah, within the placement of the Qur'an. Idha ja'a nasrullahi wal-fath is the 110th surah in the Qur'an. And the very next surah is:

You see how Allah gave him victory. And everybody is embracing Islam in the same place where Abu Lahab rejected him years prior.

How Should a Believer Celebrate Success?

But you see from this surah, we learn a very important lesson of how a believer should lead his life — how he should lead his life. When success, when a moment of happiness, a moment of triumph comes his way — what should he do? How should he act?

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ comes into Mecca humbled. If he was anything other than a messenger, he would have come in with his chest high, erected a statue, killed those who harmed him, massacred everybody, taken over, taken all their land, taken all their wealth — as all of the history of mankind bears witness to. But you see the truthfulness of the statement of Allah:

And the truthfulness of the statement of Allah:

We have only sent you as a mercy to mankind, as a warner, as a giver of glad tidings, and a caller to Allah, and a light — a shining light for those who will listen.

Celebrating with Obedience, Not Sin

And so when we attain success, when we have moments of happiness — the day of our marriage, the day of Eid — how do we celebrate Eid? We gather in the masjid and we recite takbirat, we make dhikr of Allah, we praise Allah. But if we fall into the same trap that our society around us has fallen into — of celebrating success with sin — then we have failed.

People go to the club and they start partying. They drink alcohol, they listen to music, and they dance when they have some sort of success — after a big championship parade, alcohol is spraying everywhere, or a big fight, or whatever it is. How do people celebrate? By sinning.

How do we celebrate? On our wedding day, do we throw out the norms that Islam has taught us? We throw out the dress code, we throw out the interactions — and it just becomes... It's just one day. But then the pictures live on, and maybe on social media and the like.

How do we celebrate our days of Eid? How do we celebrate private successes in our lives — when we're promoted in a job, or we get into medical school, or we get into whatever we're looking to? Do we humble ourselves? And do we praise Allah? Do we acknowledge:

That everything I have is from Allah, and whatever I've been given is from Allah.

There's no difference between you and your classmate who ended up somewhere else, and you ended up where you are — or your friend who ended up somewhere else, and you ended up here, and mashallah Allah opened up the doors of dunya. There's no difference. It's not from your efforts alone. Your effort played a role, but it is Allah who gives. You may have studied less than your friend or your classmate. You may have done less. But the rizq of Allah is written — the rizq as He decides.

But what is upon us:

And Allah says in Surah Al-Hadid — that whatever befalls you, whether good or bad, know that it is from Allah:

So that you don't become too sad if you miss something that you were searching so much for, nor become too happy when you are given something. Keep level-headed — always remain humble, always praising Allah and acknowledging that success only comes from Allah.

We ask Allah for tawfiq.

Closing Du'as

And just a quick du'a request from all of you — for all those who are sick, particularly in our ummah. One of our teachers, Shaykh Abdul Nasser — his father, may Allah bless him and preserve him, is ill right now in the hospital. So please make du'a for him — a special du'a. He is somebody who has impacted this community in more ways than we can count. Many of us, including myself, stand here before you as students of his. His khayr, mashallah — may Allah bless him and preserve him — has gone well beyond the boundaries of this country and all around the world. So his father is in need of your du'a right now. Please make du'a for him.

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكُمْ — and establish the prayer.