Jummah Khutbah: Surviving the Confusion of Trials

Surviving the Confusion of Trials

May Allah protect you and guard you and your families from all the trials and tribulations. Say Ameen. We live in a time of fitan, and if you look around you, these trials, they come one after the other one. It doesn't even leave you room to breathe sometimes. People wake up in the morning, they're so worried — worried about almost everything.

These fitan and trials come on a small scale and a big scale — community and individuals, your own personal, private and public. It seems that it's just kind of pushing us all to come to understand that it is indeed almost the end of time. The Messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, mentioned the hadith that right before the end of time — which means right before the Hour is established and the Day of Judgment is established — there will be trials, there will be tribulations, so dark, just like the darkest of the night. And the meaning of that is that you can't even tell, you can't even see through.

This fitan, we see them on a political level, in the family, at work, in financials. SubhanAllah, it's too much. It is too much.

How Can We Survive This Confusion?

How can I survive the confusion that these trials will produce and cause for me and my community? I want to talk to you about this a little bit by explaining one of the hadith of Rasulullah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, which is mentioned in Sahih Muslim. The Messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, has given us a solution to these trials and tribulations:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 213)

He says, bādirū bil-aʿmāl — you need to rush and hasten and do as much as you can in terms of good deeds — fitanan ka qiṭaʿ al-layl al-muẓlim — before the time of these dark trials comes to you. He is asking us, صلى الله عليه وسلم, to rush. Make as many good deeds as possible before the time of trials arrives.

Yuṣbiḥu al-rajul fīhā muʾminan wa yamsī kāfiran — trials and tribulations make a person wake up in the morning a believer, and by the end of the day, they're so confused, they're almost in disbelief. Wa yamsī muʾminan wa yuṣbiḥu kāfiran — sometimes in the evening you have such strong faith and belief, yet you wake up in the morning so confused. You don't even know what to do. Where are you going from there?

He said, صلى الله عليه وسلم, yabīʿu dīnahū bi-ʿaraḍin min al-dunyā — they sell their deen, they sell their faith and their iman for whatever worldly gain they can get. Like they trade their iman for the immediate pleasure of this dunya.

The Reality of Our Time

You see, when the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, spoke about this fitna, we can tell that these fitan are so great. Nowadays, if you look at the news, you're really worried. I'm worried. I don't even know what the future of the world is going to be — with all that we see right now in the Middle East, what's happening there. New alliances being formed right and left. The confusion of who is on the right side, who is on the wrong side. We always thought that freedom is actually warranted to everybody. And now we see some regimes have taken it back again and become oppressive. Why? Because they want to be in control. So which direction is the right direction for this world?

On your personal life as well — family life. I do a lot of counseling when it comes to family counseling. SubhanAllah, there is huge confusion between men and women, husband and wife, on how they should run their family life and family affairs. How should we raise our children? Should we even have kids or not in the first place? That's a new question young men and women are asking today. There is a lot of confusion because they see so much fitna, so much trials and darkness in the future. They don't even know how to proceed slowly and gradually.

All this fitna can cause a person to start thinking and wondering: What do I do? Should I be among those few who hold on tight to their principles, or just join the crowd?

The Full Hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari

In this hadith of the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, the Messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 54, Hadith 23; also narrated in Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4262)

There will be trials and tribulations before the end of time. They will be so dark like the darkness of the night. Yuṣbiḥu al-rajul fīhā muʾminan — the person will be a believer in the morning and become a disbeliever at the end of the day. Wa yamsī muʾminan wa yuṣbiḥu kāfiran — maybe at the end of the day in the evening they will be a true believer, but in the morning they're confused again.

Al-qāʿidu fīhā khayrun min al-qāʾim — those who sit down are better than those who walk through the fitna. When a trial happens, everybody wants to have an opinion on it — especially today, because people have the power of the internet, the power of the comment section. Everybody wants to give an opinion. And the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, says staying out of it is better than just walking through it.

Wa al-qāʾimu fīhā khayrun min al-māshī — and if you're standing, that is better than walking through it. Wa al-māshī fīhā khayrun min al-sāʿī — and even if you walk, that is better than running through it. Which means the less you get involved in the fitna, the better it is for you. So Rasulullah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, was telling us that people are going to get themselves involved, and his advice is: the less you get yourself involved in the fitna and the trial, the better it is for you in the dunya and the akhira.

Rush Toward Good Deeds

So what is the instruction in this hadith? As narrated by Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said: bādirū bil-aʿmāli fitanan ka qiṭaʿ al-layl al-muẓlim — you need to rush and proceed as much as possible through these fitan, by doing good deeds. Run. Compete. Do as much as you can before that day comes.

Even the Qur'an gives these same instructions. Allah says sābiqū, sāriʿū — compete, run, rush. Where? For Jannah. To do good deeds.

Seek the forgiveness of your Lord. You need to do as much as you can of good deeds. Why? Because good deeds will help you gain that taqwa. They help you get that filter. They will help you see through. Allah says:

If you truly fear Allah, if you truly have that taqwa, that awareness of Allah — yajʿal lakum furqānan — Allah will give you furqan. What is furqan? Here it means criteria — that intuition by which you will be able to see through the darkness of these fitan.

Many people in the time of fitna get completely disoriented. They don't know which direction to go. But those who have that taqwa, that fear of Allah, those who are close to Allah — they've been shielded. They will be given that filter. They will be given that torch of light to see through the darkness of these fitan. And Allah says:

If you truly fear Allah, if you have that taqwa, Allah will teach you. Allah will show you the way. If you truly have that in your heart.

But how can I get it then? This is the instruction from the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم: bādirū bil-aʿmāl — you need to race, you need to go as fast as possible, as quickly as possible, as soon as possible, in doing that which is good and righteous. Because doing this will increase your iman, will increase your faith and your belief and your level of taqwa. So that when the fitan happen, at least you have something to stand on.

But those who are now thinking that life is good, everything is mashAllah amazing, and they only worry about their bills and their livelihood, and don't really put much effort into increasing their iman — if the fitna happens, may Allah protect us all, they will be the first people affected. Because their attachment is not where it's supposed to be. Their attachment is in the dunya.

So when the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, is telling us to prepare for these trials and fitna — not with so much money in your bank account just in case something happens. No. What's the value of millions of dollars in your bank account when the economy goes down and you collapse? What's the value of all these millions of dollars you think you're securing your future with — your retirement plan — if your heart is empty? If it doesn't have that reliance on Allah? If you only rely on your 401k or your business plan? It would be useless. You'd be panicking. It wouldn't help you at all.

But what's going to help you really is to have that contentment in the heart, because you have the knowledge that Allah promised: if you have taqwa, I'll give you. You can see through. You will have that filter that will help you see the haqq from the bāṭil — what is right from what is wrong. That's what you need. As the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, says, you need to rush in doing good deeds.

Don't wait until things happen and then you turn back to Allah. We know it's very common — people enjoy their life and enjoy their dunya until they're tested. And when they're tested, they come back to Allah and repent. Allah accepts from them, no doubt about it. But why can't we do something right before this? So if this happens, alhamdulillah, I have the iman that will keep me solid.

Two Types of Trials: Shubuhāt and Shahawāt

These fitan that the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, speaks about are considered fitn al-shubuhāt wa al-shahawāt.

1. Fitn al-Shubuhāt — The Fitna of Doubtful Matters

Fitn al-shubuhāt means doubtful matters — things related to the subject of faith. We are getting to a moment where being Muslim is no longer something to be proud of. Unfortunately. People ask me why there aren't enough programs for the youth, the kids, the young ones — whatever we do at the masjid in terms of programs is not enough for our children. And people try to put the blame on the community, on the organizers, on the youth programs and so on. The subject is bigger than all of us.

I grew up in the 1980s. Those who grew up in the 1980s when it comes to the subject of Islam and Muslims — that was a time when it was once called al-ṣaḥwa, the awakening of the Muslim community. People were coming out from the 1960s and 70s, the extreme liberal life, and they got sick and tired of it. They were now coming to religiosity and spirituality. At the time, I remember in the 1980s, to be religious was something to be proud of. People were so proud of ascribing themselves to a Muslim organization. Because back then, being a Muslim, being a practicing Muslim, meant you had good character, akhlāq. You were a trustworthy person. You were someone very helpful, kind, generous. All these positive qualities were associated with being religious.

Today, especially after September 11th and onward — even in Muslim lands — and specifically after the so-called Arab Spring, Muslim lands, subhanAllah, are no longer welcoming the idea of being religious. The association of being religious actually means you're a troublemaker. You probably end up in jail or dead. This negative association — conditioning our children, our people, our society with the image of Islam — is getting into the minds and hearts of our young generation.

When you ask your kids to come to the masjid and become more practicing and volunteer for a Muslim organization, they're not very excited about the idea anymore. Why? Because the conditioning is working. We've conditioned the word Islam with terrorism. The word Allahu Akbar with acts of terrorism. Can you imagine — even the basics of your deen, which you use in your salah? When you say Allahu Akbar multiple times in your ibādah, it's now being conditioned in the minds of many people to be something dangerous, a dangerous statement. You can barely say Allahu Akbar out loud at your workplace when you pray anymore — out of fear that someone would hear it and think something wrong is going to happen.

It's for that reason our kids are not excited about their Muslim identity. So stop blaming the Muslim community, the masjid, the shuyūkh, or the youth leaders. It's not in their hands. It is a community and society crisis. That is one of these fitan that the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, spoke about that will be like qiṭaʿ al-layl al-muẓlim — so dark that even our kids, the younger ones, don't know which direction to go. Their parents, the adults, get disoriented too. They don't even know where to take their kids. Should I let my daughter wear the hijab or not? Should I let my kids show that they pray at school or not? We get really disoriented. Fitn al-qiṭaʿ al-layl al-muẓlim.

That's why we are asked to practice our deen and to condition our deen with kindness — with good deeds, acts of worship such as caring for other people, smiling in the face of other people, being nice and kind. Not for a PR reason. Not for public relations or just showing a good image of Islam. No — because this is truly what Islam is all about. A lot of people have summarized the practice of the deen in just rituals: salah, siyam, and devotional acts. We didn't count being kind to people, saying good morning, how are you doing, helping others across the street, carrying things for them — all that which is part of human interaction with people. We consider this a liability right now when it's supposed to be the natural thing to do as a Muslim. Being a true Muslim is actually being a good human being. Being a good citizen — that's what it means to be a true Muslim.

We have seen this becoming more common these days — young people going online and publicly saying that they are agnostic, they are atheist, they don't know if they ascribe themselves to Islam. They're just confused. I don't blame them. If the adults are confused, why not the youth? Is that it? Should we just give up on them? Or should we try to do something in a pre-emptive act to help them avoid falling into this fitna? That's our job as parents, as adults. We need to provide the environment for them where they will feel proud of being who they are and being Muslims.

2. Fitn al-Shahawāt — The Fitna of Desires

Fitn al-shahawāt — the trials of desires. Some people, alhamdulillah, are intellectually very strong and very solid. They can stand against all ideological and philosophical debates against Islam and Muslims. But they are human beings, which means they have desires like me and you. As much as we try to shield our children and ourselves from the fitan of shahawāt, it's becoming unfortunately rampant — all over the place. We see now the scandals coming out on the internet — on a political level, in movies, sports, even involving clergy. Where are they coming from? Fitn al-shahawāt.

And people start wondering — subhanAllah — if all these people fall into sin and mistakes, why not me? If they can be given excuses, I can be excused too. People get confused, thinking that it's okay. And we allow ourselves to fall into the fitna. Even those who try to shield themselves find themselves asking: Is it okay? Is it haram? Is it permissible?

The Solutions

The solution for fitn al-shubuhāt — the doubtful matters of faith — comes with knowledge, and with knowledge and practice of the deen. And when it comes to facing the fitn al-shahawāt — the trials of desires — it requires lots and lots of patience.

This is the time of ṣabr. This is the time where patience is the greatest virtue that people need to acquire. And ironically, it is the same time where it is the most lost commodity — the quality that people look for all over the place and is the least to be found. Not so many people have that anymore. Especially with the culture of our time, where everything has to be fast. We live in a drive-thru culture, jama'ah. People come for jama'ah drive-thru sometimes — they want to come in the last few minutes, pray, and leave right away. No one really comes to learn. No one comes to really revive their spirit, except for a few. Allah al-mustaʿān. I just want to do my duty and move on.

Because everything is becoming drive-thru, we are not used to being patient. If you ask some people — specifically the young ones — to be patient, it's just like you're asking them to kill themselves. It's so hard for them to wait an extra 30 seconds after salah and make tasbeeh. It's so hard for people to just wait a few extra moments to reflect and connect with Allah and with their inner self — to have that tadabbur and tafakkur that they've been asked to do.

The Metaphor of Darkness

The Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, described these trials and fitan that people go through like the darkness of the night. What does that mean exactly? I don't know how many of you have ever experienced a blackout in the city, but because alhamdulillah we have gotten so used to light, we don't even recognize the meaning of darkness anymore. Even in a dark room, you can easily get your phone out — you've got light. We don't get enough time even to experience what darkness could look like.

That's why when people fall into this, they don't know what to do. And because we're used to having light available in our hands at all times, when it comes to that metaphoric darkness of the mind and the heart — in regards to trials and fitan — we expect light to be available right away. And we start looking for light right and left. We don't know where to find it. We get really, really confused.

That's why the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, described the night here as being extremely dark — to the extent that people will find it very hard to look for and find the truth. It's not easy to find that door where you openly find light. That is the time when iman needs to be strong, and people need to do that which is right.

The Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, says yamsī kāfiran. Sometimes a person will be in the evening a disbeliever. Now the word kufr in the Arabic language could mean infidelity, and it could also mean denial. Here the ʿulamāʾ of tafseer say yamsī kāfiran means denying the niʿma and the blessings of Allah. You know, when you work hard all day and at the end of the day, instead of saying alhamdulillah, you think it all came because of your own hard work — you're denying Allah. And then the next day in the morning, you wake up and regret how you felt about it, because you're facing a new day to start. You don't even know if it's going to be as fruitful as yesterday, and you become hopeful. So you have your iman in your heart. But by the end of the day again — wow, great success — and you attribute it to yourself again.

So people keep fluctuating between being true believers relying on Allah, and then denying Allah and ascribing success to themselves, and vice versa.

And in the fitna, sometimes people don't even know. When there is any hope, and then another terrorist attack happens somewhere and is attributed to Muslims, immediately many people start looking for statements, excuses, anything in order to escape the attribution — not out of genuine belief that, "ya akhi, that doesn't represent me, look — I'm a Muslim, I do all these good things," but out of fear. We start getting worried: should we even admit to being Muslim or not? That's the kind of fitna we get to. Allah al-mustaʿān.

The Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, says these people at the end of each day trade their deen and their faith for whatever worldly gain they can get. And some people, because they have put their trust in human beings, when that human being's image goes down, their faith starts becoming shaky — so shaky that they don't even know: Did I believe in the wrong thing all these years? Allah al-mustaʿān.

It doesn't matter. The Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 67; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1679)

Perhaps the one who received the message will have better understanding than the one who gives it. You might have more fiqh and understanding of that message, so make sure that you focus on that and carry it to the next generation. Inshallah.

Lessons from Imam al-Nawawi

From this hadith, Imam al-Nawawi says we learn a few things. Number one: never stop doing good deeds. Never stop. And as a matter of fact, the more relaxed you feel, the more you need to do good deeds. Every time you think, alhamdulillah, I'm almost there — that means you need to do more. Why? Allah told the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم:

What does it mean? When you're done — when you're done giving da'wah to the people — fanṣab, go put yourself into the fatigue. Which means now you focus on yourself. Don't relax. For us, after a long day of working, what do we do? We spend two hours just winding down and relaxing to recover. And then what? Probably nothing much. But for the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, he was told: when you're done, now you focus on yourself.

So what I ask from each and every one of you is to think about this — always remember to focus on yourself. This hadith tells us that to survive the confusion of these trials and tribulations, you need to focus on making good deeds, more of the aʿmāl al-ṣāliḥa. Think about your good deeds. Are they enough? If you need more, come and ask. "My schedule is packed, I can barely fit in two extra rakʿah." I can tell you something else. Does it require a lot of effort? How about saying SubhanAllah a hundred times? Alhamdulillah a hundred times? How about smiling in other people's faces? Making other people's lives cheerful? Helping someone, opening the door for somebody? All these things are good deeds. Think about adding more good deeds. It doesn't have to be about the numbers and the quantity — quality matters as well.

And finally, Imam al-Nawawi says in this hadith that Allah is teaching us a very important lesson. It doesn't matter how much you think this dunya is coming under your control — at the end, it's going to go away. So your main focus should be building for your akhira. May Allah make us successful.

The Sign of the Hour and Qiyam al-Layl

The Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, once woke up in a state of concern, and one of the members of his household saw him and asked what was going on. The Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said: "Woe to the Arabs" — because that was during the time of the Arabian Peninsula when the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, was there — "woe to them against an evil that is coming very soon." An imminent threat is coming to them. He spoke about the opening that was made in the wall that separates us from Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj. And eventually the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, was talking about the imminence of the Day of Judgment. As we see the signs of the Day of Judgment coming every single day, we know it is coming very close.

So when the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, wanted his family and household to be prepared, he said: who is going to go and wake all the ladies of his household to get up and pray Qiyām al-Layl? Who will go and wake them up to pray tahajjud?

From this hadith we learn a very simple message: you want to survive the trials of your time? Get up half an hour early before Fajr and pray two rakʿah. That is a key element for your success and your survival of this fitna. Very simple. Qiyām al-Layl.

"Yeah, but I'm tired." Well, that's the solution. Get up. Make sure that you put your priorities in the right order. Wake up a little bit earlier before Fajr so you can pray at least two rakʿah, four rakʿah. Make this tahajjud and qiyām and make dhikr and duʿāʾ that Allah will guard you and protect you and protect your family.

O servants of Allah —