Jumma Khutbah - Aashura and the Pharoah

The Sacred Month of Muharram and the Day of Ashura

Today, according to the calendar, is the 9th day of Muharram and tomorrow will be the 10th, by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Al-Muharram is the first month of our lunar calendar of the year 1439 Hijri. And Al-Muharram is one of the four months that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala named in the Qur'an as الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُم — Al-Ashhurul Hurum — which means the sacred months.

In these sacred months, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said that when He made this creation, when He started this creation, He created time and He divided time into twelve months. Out of these twelve months He made four sacred. They have special rules in the Arabian tradition, in the Arabian culture, the Arabian peninsula — and that is a different story.

But for us, the meaning of Al-Ashhurul Hurum now — the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recognized it in a very special way. He said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 2428)

He said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: fast in these sacred months, Al-Hurum — and some say Al-Muharram, which means this month in particular. He said, fast and break your fast, which means don't fast the entire month, but dedicate some fasting for this month. That is a sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The Significance of the Tenth of Muharram

But the tenth has a very special occasion. When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam came from Mecca to Medina, he found out that the Jewish community in Medina used to fast the tenth of Al-Muharram, which was coinciding with the tenth of Al-Muharram of the Lord's calendar. And he asked them: what was that about? What was so special about that day for them? They said that this is the day when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved Musa from Fir'aun. This is the day when Allah saved Musa from the tyranny of Fir'aun.

And to this, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: "I have more right in Musa than you do." So he started fasting that day, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he gave the order and the command for the Muslim community, for the Ummah in Medina, to fast the tenth of Al-Muharram.

So basically the Prophet fasted this day, and they started doing it every single year, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, until the last year — the tenth of Al-Hijrah. Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, before he died, was informed: "You see, even Muhammad actually follows our tradition." But then he said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: "If Allah would leave me to survive the next year, I will fast the ninth and the tenth."

Today is the ninth. If you didn't fast the ninth, you could still fast the day after. So fasting Saturday for the tenth and Sunday for the eleventh — Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that the reward for fasting the tenth of Al-Muharram is expiation of the sins of one whole year.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1162)

What a bargain. For one day of fasting — and it's going to be on a weekend, inshallah — you get the reward for an entire year, erasing the sins of an entire year. Obviously we talk about sin — the minor sins. Major sins require sincere tawbah and Allah will forgive. And if you have anything between you and other people, you are going to have to reconcile with them before you can be granted this forgiveness.

But then the question is: why is it so special? Why would even the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recognize this day as a day of celebration? And why was this day made a day of celebration if it was all about Fir'aun? You see, if you don't realize the tyranny of Fir'aun, you wouldn't understand the significance of that celebration.

The Tyranny of Fir'aun in the Qur'an

In this khutbah I want to share with you from the Qur'an the tyranny of Fir'aun: what did he do? Why was he the greatest tyrant ever mentioned in the Qur'an? To what level did he arrive in his tyranny, in his arrogance? And is it only about Fir'aun? Or is it something that can happen to each and every one of us? Can you be Fir'aun? Or at least — can you act like Fir'aun? Maybe not completely, but in some of our actions, some of the behavior that we have with ourselves, with other people, with the community — can that get to that level of the tyranny of Fir'aun?

Allah azza wa jalla described Fir'aun in one single ayah in Surah Al-Qasas:

He transgressed. The word ala means to rise. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, with His hikmah and wisdom, allowed this — that Fir'aun became such a tyrant. He raised his name and his fame and his glory and his power and his tyranny on the earth. Allah says "on the earth" — that means it was massive. The effect and the influence of the tyranny of Fir'aun was massive.

وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعًا — He divided the people into classes and categories. He made slaves out of some people, and he made others to be dignitaries, and others to be a certain class — this and that. He divided the people. He ruled over the land, over the earth, and he divided the people among themselves.

يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَائِفَةً مِّنْهُمْ — He would bring some people and pressure them until they become weak and submit to him. And he made slaves of some of these people.

يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءَهُمْ — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about what he did to Bani Israel: he killed their boys, and he enslaved their women.

إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ — In summary, Allah says about Fir'aun: he was indeed of the Mufsidin — the mischievous, those who create corruption and those who destroy on the land. Like a warning to us. That when people become so tyrannical, when they act in such an attitude, when they see themselves at that level of tyranny, they become like Fir'aun.

Why Does Allah Allow Tyrants to Grow?

Some people ask: but why would Allah azza wa jalla even let these tyrants grow big in this world, in this life? When we look around these days, a lot of these leaders of our time — Muslims and non-Muslims — they reach a certain level, and they think that they can do whatever they want and there is no one really to hold them accountable. Their tyranny grows massive. The corruption spreads all over the place — Allahu almusta'an.

Why would Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow this to happen? They say that Allah azza wa jalla allows these tyrants to come out to test the people. That's how Allah tests the people — He is going to test you with each other. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tests the tyrants: how are they going to treat their people under their sovereignty? And for the people: what are they going to do in front of these tyrants? Are they going to submit themselves to them and just go with the flow and never try to speak the truth? Because it's a matter of test. And those who accept that tyranny and move on will be joined in it. And those who resist — or at least come out with the truth even if it costs them a lot — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has prepared for them Jannat al-Firdaws al-A'la.

Fir'aun's Claim to Divinity

Now why do we fast this day? Because again, it's a celebration against the tyranny of Fir'aun and every other tyranny that can come out in this life. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described Fir'aun — at some point, he claimed to be God himself. He tells the people of Egypt — Fir'aun is telling the people of Egypt, he came out in public. Obviously he was coming out with all the entourage and all the people around him and his glory. And in this whole frenzy of joy and love and celebration, he says: "O people, I don't know any God for you better than me."

SubhanAllah — even as he tried to establish his arrogance and his tyranny, even if one could say his claim of being God, because he is a human being and he will make that mistake. And what does it mean when people reach that level of tyranny? The meaning of a person calling himself or herself God is basically that they claim themselves to be completely independent and they need absolutely nobody. They exercise this level of power, this level of authority, because of the wealth they have accumulated, because of the status they have accumulated, because of whatever they had — and the power in their hands. They think they can do whatever they want.

More than Fir'aun? Is he going to be more than Fir'aun? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made him an example. He immediately failed in the way he was trying to establish himself as God. When he says, "I don't know any other God better than me," he is saying about himself that his knowledge is limited. What kind of God is that who has limited knowledge? And what kind of God tries to compare himself to other gods? So he failed from the very beginning.

That shows how human beings are, and how easy it is to completely destroy this kind of claim. The sense of power and being independent and self-sufficient — that you need no one in your life, that no one can stand in your way — that is false. We always need Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on our side. And we are always going to need people to be with us, to guide us and help us go through this.

Fir'aun and His Advisor Haman

Fir'aun didn't just do this for himself — he destroyed those who were around him, his advisors. His advisors obviously were cheerleading for him, like many of our contemporary leaders of our time. So he went and called Haman, his advisor:

He said: "Haman, build me a tower. Use whatever you have. Build me a tower as high as you can reach into the sky. Why? I want to see if Musa is telling the truth — if there is a God that Musa worships up there." He still showed his weakness. As he was trying to establish his status as God, he failed. And he said about Musa: "And I think he is lying." — "I think." What kind of God establishes judgment and decrees on thinking, on a matter of opinion? It's a matter of knowledge — ultimate knowledge. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — no one can put themselves in the position of Lord and God — but Allah azza wa jalla will bring them down.

Fir'aun Against the Believers

When it comes to Fir'aun, obviously not everybody accepted what he said. Bani Israel with Musa alayhi salam rejected that claim. And when they came public with their announcement — "Hey, we listened, we're going to follow Musa" — and when other people from Egypt also believed in the message of Musa alayhi salam, Fir'aun the tyrant was very upset. So he starts calling them:

"They're just a tiny little group. What? They have no effect. They have no influence whatsoever." He says: "They're making me so upset and angry. They're infuriating us." So it becomes a matter of emotions now — not a matter of rationale. It's not a matter of evidence anymore. It's a matter of emotions. They make him upset when he thinks about them or sees them. However, he says: "But still, we're going to be careful about them."

That's what tyrants usually do. It becomes a matter of emotions for them. Whoever comes against them and opposes them, they throw all these claims at them. They try to bring them down. We've seen this in the past few years in many Muslim countries. We've seen this even here in this country. If anyone speaks against a tyrant, they are immediately targeted as a tiny little minority group. You can see that even on a very small scale in almost every gathering and every community.

Fir'aun's Manipulation of the People

Fir'aun, when he couldn't defeat Musa alayhi salam with logic, with hujjah, with burhan, with argument — Musa who had miracles from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — then he came to the people and said:

"Just leave it between me and him. I'll finish him for you. Let him call his lord if he can help him. I'm really trying to do this for your own good." That's what Fir'aun is saying to them. "I'm doing this because I'm afraid that he's going to change your religion for you. He's going to change your ways, change your traditions, what you've been used to, what you know. He's changing all what you know."

And obviously, when you say that, you scare the people — because people don't like change much. Especially when they have established certainty with what they know, with what they have been doing in their lives.

The Certainty of Pain vs. the Uncertainty of Freedom

One of the things that comes up in counseling, in dealing with domestic violence and the subject of abuse — why is it that the abused doesn't want to escape the relationship? When a lady or someone in a situation of abuse comes and asks for help in a moment of despair, but then after that they retract all their statements, they don't want to press any charges, they're willing to go back and reconcile with the abusers — why? Why are they trying to do that?

Psychologically, they say that the abused has already become so used to the abuse, that they have the certainty of pain — the certainty and the limit of all that they are going to go through. But they've been through this before. They're willing to live the certainty of abuse rather than the uncertainty of freedom. Because they don't know what's going to happen to them after that. This is so scary for them.

So a lot of people, when they hold on to certain valuables — whether their belief system, ideas, idols, or whatever it is — when this is suddenly no longer truthful, they start getting scared. Because now you're bringing them into uncertainty. And they'd rather live the certainty of a lie than the uncertainty of the truth. Because it's so scary for them — unless they're willing to make that move and that jump.

And here, Fir'aun is using this technique with the people of Egypt. He says: "Listen, let me finish him for you, because I'm really scared for you. I'm afraid he's going to change your religion, your ways, what you believe in, what you know. Or at least he will cause commotion and mischief in the land." That is the claim of the tyrants, O people.

Fir'aun's Emotional Appeals and Empty Claims

And then Fir'aun, when this didn't work out, the threats came in. He said:

"O people, do I not have the sovereignty over the land of Egypt? And I own all these rivers that run underneath my feet. The rivers of Egypt — don't you see?" But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the water run over him. When he was claiming that it was his sense of security and safety, his claim for this power became actually the cause of his destruction and his fall.

And whenever someone brought the truth to him — like Musa — he immediately looked away from the facts and started targeting emotional things. He says: "Who's better, me or him? I mean, look at him — he doesn't even know how to talk." That's how Fir'aun was describing Musa to the people of Egypt. "Look at how he talks. He can't even be eloquent enough to express himself." So now it becomes a matter of eloquent speech, not a matter of hujjah, burhan, evidence, and truth.

The Magicians and the People's Choice

So what happened to the people? When Musa brought the evidence and they saw all these miracles in front of their own eyes — Fir'aun used his power and the media of that time. People were called to come and witness how the magicians would face Musa alayhi salam. They called all the people to congregate. And they used the religious elite of that time — the magicians. The craft, the witchcraft. So all the magicians came to Fir'aun. They said: "Are you going to give us any reward if we win?" He said: "Of course, absolutely. I'll make you the closest to me. You'll be my closest advisors." So they started, of course, promoting and advocating for Fir'aun.

But then when the magic failed, and the miracles and the truth came out — the first people to believe were these magicians themselves. Now Fir'aun was in a big dilemma. All the plot he had made was running against him. But then what happened? The people of Egypt still followed Fir'aun. It wasn't a matter of truth anymore. It was a matter of emotions. It was a matter of what people wanted to believe. Make-believe. Don't tell me this is right or this is wrong — because you're afraid of the uncertainty of the truth.

Allah says about this:

اسْتَخَفَّ قَوْمَهُ — He belittled their intellect. That is the meaning of istikhaff. He didn't even consider them as anything at all. فَأَطَاعُوهُ — So they followed him. He basically acted in a way that they thought: "Yeah, sure, whatever he says, we'll do that."

Who is to blame? Allah says: إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ — "Indeed, they were a people of fasiqin." The people themselves — they wanted that. They didn't want to change their ways. They were not willing to believe in the truth. They just wanted to believe in that falsehood because it gave them a sense of security, a sense of safety, a sense of certainty that they always wanted to keep for themselves.

But Allah azza wa jalla showed them later on in the story of Musa alayhi salam that that tyranny doesn't last long. And indeed, when Fir'aun tried to run after Musa and Bani Israel, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala showed them the miracle — and he drowned. That kind of tyranny doesn't last long.

Lessons for Us Today

And if we look in our life and at ourselves, wherever we are, we probably have some of these qualities of Fir'aun. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from this, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

Why do you think Allah azza wa jalla is bringing the story of Fir'aun more than 27 times in the Qur'an? Different angles and different contexts. One time the concentration is on Fir'aun himself. One time the concentration is on Musa. Sometimes it is the dialogue that happened between them. Sometimes it is the miracle. Many, many different ways. Why would Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bring this story to us over and over again? This is for us to learn from it. Because Allah is saying: these stories were mentioned in the Qur'an not just for entertainment. They are lessons to learn. And this is what we need to work on — look at these stories and learn the lessons.

May Allah make us among those who listen to the speech. May Allah make us among those who follow the best of it. Ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

Second Part of the Khutbah

الحمد لله رب العالمين، وصلى الله وسلم وبارك على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليمًا كثيرًا. أما بعد، عباد الله —

What happened at the end of the story of Fir'aun and Musa alayhi salam? In the story of Musa and Fir'aun, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Allah made this like a law, a decree, a divine law. تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ — the hereafter, the place of the hereafter — Allah says نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا — will be dedicated for those who desire no transgression and no corruption on this earth. And then He says وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ — the end result will always be for the most righteous. We might not see it in this dunya, but we will see it in the akhirah.

And when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala showed His blessings upon Bani Israel at that moment in time, He says:

Allah says: Allah's will was to make these people who were once the du'afa' — the weak — that at some point Allah wants to raise them up and bring them up. وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً — make them leaders. وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ — and make them those who will inherit the land and bring that which is best for the people. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us from them, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

My dear brothers and sisters, this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made that day for Bani Israel a day of celebration. It is a celebration against tyranny — a celebration when the haqq and the truth win against falsehood. And that is something we don't just designate for one day or two days or three days. It is almost every single day. But at least this day was recognized as a very special day — one that even Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam acknowledges as a day of celebration.

So tomorrow is the 10th of Muharram inshallah — Ashura. I would like to recommend for each and every one of you: take a chance and make sure that your family fasts this day with you, bi idhnillah tabarak wa ta'ala.

عباد الله —