Jummah Khutbah - Giving to Those in Need

Jummah Khutbah — Giving to Those in Need

As I was trying to prepare an introduction for the topic I would like to share with you today, I'm kind of wondering how can I make it so easy, how can I make it so simple, how can I make it appealing, but Wallahi, there is nothing so pleasing about dealing with the wounds of the Muslim Ummah and particularly what's happening as we speak today in the eastern Ghouta in Syria. SubhanAllah, thinking about which wound to begin to speak about, which one of them. Earlier we talked about the Rohingya, what's happening for the Muslims in Myanmar, SubhanAllah, and Burma, and the cleansing — whether it's actually racial or religious or whatever you name it — of an entire minority just because they're Muslims.

That itself is an unbelievable thing, SubhanAllah. I mean, alhamdulillah for the blessings of the Internet and social media and the ability for people to see firsthand what's going on there. It brought attention to their plight and their genocide. But then we thought we're done with that, only to start hearing about what's going on right now in Sri Lanka.

And now it's like a repetition of the thing that is happening to Muslims in Myanmar. And then, SubhanAllah, as everybody's busy with other things in the world, there has to be some sort of political agreement that was done between the superpowers in the Middle East — that they gave up on the Muslims and the civilians in Syria — and now a systematic bombing and shelling and killing of over 400,000 people who remain there in Ghouta, in just indiscriminate bombing and shelling and so forth. These people — it's as though whether you live or you die doesn't matter.

All of this for some political gain that needs to be done and given, SubhanAllah, by one superpower to the other one. And what is so, so sad and so problematic is when you look at who's going to stand for the rights of these people? Who's supposed to be the one standing for the huqooq and help and give a helping hand to these people? Who's going to do that? You would think that those who are nearest to them are supposed to be the people to support and help and bring their case to the international world and bring attention to the people, SubhanAllah. You would think that would be the case.

But we see that the Muslim countries and societies around them, instead of standing for their values and for their brothers and sisters in their region, they themselves are giving up on it and changing their own values. It's like saying we have nothing to do with this — thinking that they're going to be safe from this fitna. But when it happens, it's going to take probably everybody. May Allah protect us from this, ya Rabbal 'Alameen.

So people — and truly, specifically the situation in al-Ghouta — people are now looking to the Muslims who live in the West. They're looking at us. They're saying, you know what, we give up on these people who are there, supposed to be our nearest neighbors to help us and support us. So they're looking at us: what can we do and how can we bring hope to the people in that region? I can't even give you the statistics, SubhanAllah, because we've lost track of how many people are dying on a daily basis, how many houses are being destroyed, territories being completely wiped off the earth.

Why? Because it is a deliberate and systematic way of cleansing that region completely of the civilians living in that area. And the international world is just watching. SubhanAllah, I don't like to talk politics on the minbar, but when you have things like this kind of injustice and no one is doing anything — including the so-called security council that's supposed to be helping and supporting civilians in times of war — when you have one of those countries in that council, SubhanAllah, coming to claim that they are now trying new things, like Russia, for example — they are deliberately and openly saying they've been trying all kinds of modern weapons they're developing in Syria. Like they're preparing for the next war by destroying Syria and the people of Syria. That's what they're telling us. They've been trying everything, putting everything on hold, and that's an opportunity for them to try everything. And who's paying for this? Allahumma sta'in. The civilians, the individuals who are dying on a daily basis.

The Obligation to Help Those in Need

The brothers and sisters in al-Ghouta and in Syria and elsewhere keep looking at us, the Muslims — what can we do for them? And that's when the subject of being there for people, being there for their needs, helping and giving to those who are in need comes to us as Muslims as a priority. In times like this, what is it that we can do for them?

The first thing I want you to understand is that being there for those who are in need, giving to those who are in need, and helping those who are in need is a great principle — a great and noble trait of the Muslim standard of character. Allah says at the beginning of Surah al-Ma'idah:

That you assist each other — you assist and help each other for taqwa, for righteousness, birr and taqwa — so that you become more righteous and assist each other in performing that which is good. وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ — don't help and assist each other in committing sin, the haram, and transgression.

And what we see over there is a huge amount of injustice, oppression, indiscriminate killing of civilians — men, women, children. How many orphans became orphans because of what's going on over there? Who is there to stand for their rights? One day they're living in their house with their families, and all of a sudden the house is gone. Parents are gone. And they're left on their own right now trying to figure out what's happening and why it is happening to them. What crime did they commit? What crime did they commit to become victims of this situation? And then some people have their own agendas they would like to establish in that region, and civilians pay the price, unfortunately.

Helping Goes Beyond Money

As a Muslim Ummah, when it comes to helping those who are in need and giving to those who are in need, I don't want you to think of just money. No — helping those who are in need can go beyond just giving your cash and your money. Maybe some of us don't have that much to give in terms of financial support. But you still, alhamdulillah, have your mind, you have your words, you have your connections, you have your social media, you have the people that you work with. You can write, you can speak, you can bring their cause to other people. Maybe you can't give yourself, but probably you can reach out to somebody who has a very big and compassionate heart and nature who can give to other people, insha'Allah.

The Example of the Muhajireen and the Ansar

You see, the Muslim Ummah, from the very beginning, they're very famous for this — altruism — meaning preferring those who are in need over their own needs. When Allah spoke of the early generation of the Muslims, the Muhajireen and the Ansar — when the Muhajireen, meaning the immigrants (and there are so many of these refugees considered immigrants from their hometown somewhere else in the world) — many of these people, when they left at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, they knew that their only destination where they could find peace and tranquility was with their brothers and sisters in Medina, the Ansar, the supporters. So when they left Mecca, they left with nothing. Some of them left with a shirt on their back — that's it. They just wanted to survive. And they did, and when they arrived in Medina, the Ansar took them in.

And Allah praised them for this. In Surah al-Hashr, Allah says:

For the poor immigrants — fuqara' al-Muhajireen — who left their hometowns in Mecca and went out traveling in the desert going to Medina. For what? They were seeking the pleasure of Allah and fadl — the bounties and blessings of Allah. وَيَنصُرُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ — and they were going there to support their faith, their deen, and the deen of Allah. أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الصَّادِقُونَ — Allah testified that these people were the sadiqoon, truthful about their faith and their iman.

And then He spoke about those who received them:

And those who resided in Medina, in that home, and had their faith in their hearts and that land that they lived in — يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ — they loved those who came to them. They didn't call them refugees. They called them their brothers and their sisters. They took them in right away.

And Allah says about them: وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِّمَّا أُوتُوا — they don't put anything in their hearts with regard to what they're giving to these people. They don't consider this a favor. When they help them out with food, with shelter, when they give them a place — they don't even think that I'm doing them any favor. There is nothing in their hearts when it comes to giving people, because they know they don't do anybody a favor but themselves. Why? Because when you give, you get the benefit before anybody else — from Allah.

And Allah says about them: وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ — they don't just give; they give that thing that they love. They give the thing that they prefer. They don't look for whatever is left over to give away. No — they make something fresh, they go and give from the best of what they own. Why? Because they're looking for the reward from Allah. Even if their eyes and their hearts pursue what they have, they will still give it for the sake of Allah, because they know their brothers and sisters are more in need of it.

Being a Key for Goodness

When it comes to helping people, again, it's not just about money — even with your knowledge, even with your power, with your name, with your fame, with the endorsement of whatever cause you can do. In a hadith narrated by Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi, may Allah be pleased with him, recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 237)

Allah has the khaza'in of al-khayr wa al-sharr — in the hand of Allah. These are the vaults of good and the vaults of evil. Everything is stored there with Allah, because He is the one who rules as part of the test. And then he said ﷺ: مَفَاتِيحُهَا الرِّجَالُ — the keys to these vaults are people. Al-Rijal means men, but it means people.

What does that exactly mean? He said ﷺ: فَطُوبَى لِمَنْ جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ مِفْتَاحًا لِلْخَيْرِ مِغْلَاقًا لِلشَّرِّ — may Jannah be for the person whom Allah blessed to be a key for goodness and a lock against all evil. And that's the meaning of being a miftahan lil-khayr — whenever there is a door for khayr you open it. When someone needs something, you don't close — you open a gate for this. You don't stand against anything that might lead to harm to anybody. Instead you open venues and places for people.

And the Prophet ﷺ says: وَوَيْلٌ — may Jahannam be for somebody who would be مِغْلَاقًا لِلْخَيْرِ مِفْتَاحًا لِلشَّرِّ — a lock against good and a key for evil. So when it comes to helping people, again, I don't want you to think of it as just giving money — it's much more than that, with all kinds of assistance.

The Prophet's ﷺ Example in Helping Others

And Rasulullah ﷺ gave us the best example in this field. In the hadith of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, recorded in Sahih Muslim, that the Prophet ﷺ — there was a lady in Medina, an old lady, imra'ah 'ajooz in Medina, كَانَ فِي عَقْلِهَا شَيْءٌ — which means she had some mental challenge. So she wasn't always fully present. But every time she saw the Prophet ﷺ, she would say: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّ لِي إِلَيْكَ حَاجَةً — O Messenger of Allah, I need you for something.

Anas says the Prophet ﷺ would actually stop everything he was doing. وَيَلْتَفِتُ إِلَيْهَا — and he would turn to her and say: يَا أُمَّ فُلَانٍ، انْظُرِي أَيَّ سِكَكِ الْمَدِينَةِ شِئْتِ مَضَيْتُ مَعَكِ — "O so-and-so, tell me which alleyway in Medina you want, and I will go with you." She would grab the Prophet ﷺ by the hand and take him with her, and the Prophet ﷺ would go with her and help her with whatever she needed — even if it was something we might consider trivial. Even if it seemed trivial, for the Prophet ﷺ — SubhanAllah — she's a believer, she's a member of the Ummah, the community, and he would help and assist her, salawatullahi wa salamuhu 'alayhi. Then when he was done, he would come back ﷺ to the people and the community.

That was the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, and he was always consistent in that. It comes again — when it comes to being a true believer and faithful to your faith and your deen — it's when you are there for the needs of others, when you give attention to the needs of others. Not just about fulfilling certain rituals and 'ibadat — it's much more than that. It is one of the best acts of 'ibadah.

According to the hadith of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, recorded in Sahih Muslim and Musnad Imam Ahmad: sometimes the iqama would be called for salah, and as the Prophet ﷺ was going to lead the prayer, a man would grab him for something — ya Rasulallah, quickly, I need you for something. And Anas says after that: فَيَقُومُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْقِبْلَةِ — the Prophet ﷺ would be standing between the people and the Qibla, meaning in front of the front line, not even starting the prayer yet, talking to the person and listening to him. فَمَا يَزَالُ يُكَلِّمُهُ قَائِمًا — and he would still be standing there for him, listening to this person.

Anas says — and it seems he's talking about the night prayers, Maghrib and 'Isha — فَرُبَّمَا رَأَيْتُ بَعْضَ الْقَوْمِ لَيَنْعَسُ مِنْ طُولِ قِيَامِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَهُ — sometimes I would see some people starting to doze off from the length of how long the Prophet ﷺ was standing for this man before starting the salah. What does that mean? It's one of the greatest acts of 'ibadah that you help other people.

The Most Beloved People to Allah

Rasulullah ﷺ said in a hadith:p>

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat lil-Tabarani, Hadith 6026; also cited in related form in other collections)

The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to others. And that's what it means to be a true believer. What does it mean if you really believe in the Akhirah? You believe in the reward from Allah. You believe that Allah is the one who gives back whatever you spend. You believe that Allah will take your charity and He will grow it for you until you meet your Lord and get the maximum reward. What does it mean if you have all this that you believe in your heart, but when it comes to taking action, we fall so short from fulfilling that obligation?

What does it mean if Allah blessed you — alhamdulillah — with physical strength and power? You're healthy, you're strong, you can help other people. What does it mean if you don't go and lend a hand and help other people when they are in need?

Every Joint Owes a Charity

When Rasulullah ﷺ was talking about al-sadaqah and the different kinds of doors to do khayr, in a hadith he said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 720)

That every morning you are responsible to give charity on behalf of every single joint you have in your body. Every day you need to give charity. And the Prophet ﷺ was asked: ya Rasulallah, what if someone doesn't have money to give charity? So Rasulullah ﷺ said that among the gates of charity are:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 720)

Saying اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ, saying الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, saying سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, and seeking forgiveness. And what he mentioned ﷺ — وَتَدُلُّ الْمُسْتَدِلَّ عَلَى حَاجَتِهِ — you guide people to where they want to go. Even if someone asks you for directions, that is an act of charity. And he said ﷺ: وَتُسْعَى بِشِدَّةِ سَاقَيْكَ إِلَى اللَّهْفَانِ الْمُسْتَغِيثِ — you use the strength of your feet, because Allah blessed you to be able to stand and walk, and you go — you use the strength of your feet to walk with people — to somebody who is destitute, somebody in need, in dire necessity. So you run, basically, to help other people. Physically. You go and help other people. Why? Because you truly believe that is your duty as a Muslim. It is your responsibility to help and assist people who are in need.

The Situation Today

The situation today, as I'm speaking to you — Wallahi — it cannot be described by anything, Allahumma sta'in, other than just the entire world letting go of all their guards and allowing all this aggression to happen against the civilians and the needy in Syria. SubhanAllah. It seems that people, when they are flooded with all the news, when you keep watching things over and over again, you get desensitized and you think that's the new norm now. It's becoming the new norm — watching this destruction, watching bloodshed, watching people flooding out of their hometowns and living in the desert. It's becoming a new norm. We've gotten so used to this so much that we're reaching a comfort zone with looking at it and not even flinching or thinking that it requires action from us.

And I know — alhamdulillah — people have done a lot before, and I'm sure that each and every one of us, alhamdulillah, has given their share in helping and assisting other people. And may Allah reward you for what you've done before. But this is the time. It requires all your attention — whether it's financial, whether it's political power or influence in circles of friends and organizations — whatever that is, bring awareness to the situation that is there right now.

These people have been in such a terrible situation for years now. For years. Six years — and going into seven right now. SubhanAllah. And no one is realizing how long it has been. It becomes normal that some of the children — I don't know if you know this — some of these children that we're trying to help today, and would like to ask you to help today, were born in these conditions. Do you know what that means? That means the only reality of the world they know is nothing but war. They know nothing about the beauty of this world. They know nothing about playing. They know nothing about being peaceful. They know nothing about sleeping without having to fear and hear the bombing. They know nothing about living a normal life — because they have always lived between being somewhere in dungeons and tunnels and hiding, SubhanAllah, in the darkness of the night. That becomes the norm for them.

And I'm sure many of you have watched the images, the pictures, and the videos coming out from Syria — men, women, children in shelters underground for 18 days, 15 days. SubhanAllah. Wallahi, one of the images broke my heart — it was just a group of children, just a group of children, and they were paying attention to the sounds of bombing and shelling. And I was looking at them — I could see that they're not even afraid anymore. SubhanAllah. They've reached the level where it has just become the norm — whatever is going to happen is going to happen anyway. So they're just waiting for the moment. And one of them had in his hand a gallon of water that maybe had one inch left in it, and he was just holding it, waiting to see if they were going to use it or not. SubhanAllah.

Looking at this situation with the great blessings that Allah has put in our hands makes it a huge amanah. It is a trust that we have in our hands right now. Our influence, our knowledge, our political power, our ability to bring awareness to their cause — it's a huge amanah in our hands. I ask each and every one of you to take responsibility today.

I say this and I ask Allah to forgive me and the Muslims. Ask Him to forgive — He is the Forgiving and the Merciful.

Second Khutbah

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his companions.

Salat al-Hajah — Prayer of Need

My dear brothers and sisters, when it comes to helping those who are in need and giving to those who are in need — even in our worship, there is a prayer called Salat al-Hajah. I'm not sure how many of you are aware of it. In the hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, the Prophet ﷺ said: if anyone has a special need — whether that need is from Allah, or you need something from other people — let this person make wudu, pray, and then make a special du'a, asking Allah: Ya Rabb, fulfill my need.

Just the fact that we have an act of 'ibadah where you approach Allah about your need tells you how much helping other people is valued in Islam. Why? Because when it comes to helping those who are in need, we know that Allah is the one who gives, Allah is the one who protects, Allah is the one who provides. But how is this going to happen? It happens through us — people.

Those people somewhere are asking Allah to fulfill their needs. They are making du'a. As we now stand in Salat al-Jumu'ah, they are making du'a to Allah — Ya Rabb, help us. Ya Allah, provide for us. Ya Allah, take care of our needs. How do you think Allah is going to answer their du'a? Through people like me and you. Because it's not going to happen unless Allah uses us as the means to provide that ni'mah and those blessings.

As Umar ibn al-Khattab, when he wrote to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari about how to deal with the people there, he told him that Allah has designated people — He selected people — to fulfill the needs of others. They've been selected. It's a blessing. Why? Because the Prophet ﷺ says: if you fulfill someone else's need, Allah will take care of your needs for you. And if you alleviate the suffering of other people, Allah — on the most important day, the Day of Judgment — will help you to remove some of the hardships that you might otherwise go through on that Day.

This is the time, insha'Allah, to give our support to our brothers and sisters there. I ask you all to stay for a few more minutes after Jumu'ah, insha'Allah, to hear about the situation and to support the cause that will be presented. I ask you to stay after Jumu'ah, insha'Allah.