Jummah Khutbah - Unity of the Hearts

Unity of the Hearts

A new calendar year right now and starting in our community at least, inshallah, that a new board, a new leadership is going to be taken over. It is very important that we understand this concept again and how we can make it happen and possible, inshallah, with the barakah. A topic like this, it warms the hearts up and that warms the space and the community together, alhamdulillah, especially in cold weather like we had in the past few days.

We need it like that again. We need to warm up for this, inshallah. So what I'm going to say, I'm going to actually repeat some of what I mentioned last time, explaining some of the things people had a hard time understanding.

Why Is Unity So Difficult?

When it comes to unifying the hearts, understanding unity, bringing people together, no one said it's going to be an easy job. Some people thought that this is an impossible mission. If it's so easy, as mentioned in the previous khutbah, how is it then that it's so hard to find? Why in the same masjid, the same community, the same household, do we have all these disagreements, and sometimes it goes beyond disagreement to become actually fights and troubles? Why so? Now, here are a few things we need to understand about unity and about disagreement.

Disagreement Is Part of Allah's Qadr

First of all, when it comes to differing and disagreeing, no one says it's going to be an easy job to bring people together. It is part of the qadr of Allah for people to differ. Allah says in the Holy Quran, in Surah Hud — had your Lord willed, He could have made all of mankind one single community. It is within the capability of the Lord to do that. That's an easy thing for Allah. It's a matter of كُن فَيَكُونُ — "Be, and it is." But Allah says:

They will continue to differ among themselves — except for those whom Allah has bestowed His mercy upon. And then He says it is for that reason they were created. It means that Allah has given them the freedom of choice. Difference of opinion and disagreement will continue to exist, which means it is part of Allah's overall plan — testing us human beings.

Allah's universal qadr is to create good and evil, to create unity and disagreement, to create love and hate. All these contrasts are part of the overall universal plan of Allah, which we call the overall qadr. But then Allah also says that the qadr of Allah and the predestination of Allah is that unity will exist as well.

So what is the command that we have received from Allah? It is that we seek unity. Difference of opinion will exist. Disagreement will exist — that is part of Allah's qadr, and we have no control over that. But what we do have control over is to choose to be among those whom Allah bestows His mercy upon, by following the command of Allah and seeking unity — being together.

We cannot take this qadr of Allah as an excuse not to seek unity and be unified together. We cannot do that. That is not an excuse. If you say, "Well, Allah decreed that we always be in difference of opinion" — true, but as Allah's qadr as well is that we seek actual unity amongst ourselves.

The 73 Sects: A Warning and a Direction

Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ mentioned in the hadith that Allah, when He created the path for people, people would be divided. And the Ummah — he said, ﷺ, about this Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ — will be divided among itself into 73 different branches, 73 different sects among themselves. And then he said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3992; also reported by al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2640)

They will all be doomed except for one. So even though difference of opinion is there, and disagreement is there — valid or invalid disagreement, it doesn't matter — it's still there. We have been ordered and commanded to follow one and only one.

And that is what the Prophet ﷺ was asked about when someone said يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ — which one of them? He said: الْجَمَاعَةُ — the group, meaning the community. And when asked how to identify that group, he said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2641)

It is the group that follows the exact tradition, the exact sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, from the sahabah رضي الله عنهم, and those who follow them afterwards. May Allah make us among them, يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

Where Do People Differ?

But the thing is, even though difference of opinion and the qadr of disagreement will exist, we have been ordered to follow that one, to follow the path of unity. Where do people differ? Many things. We differ in theology. Muslims have divided themselves into different sects — divided about understanding Allah and His attributes, divided between Sunnah and Shia, and divided among many other things, subhanAllah.

We have even divided ourselves in matters of fiqh. Yes, we all agree, alhamdulillah, on believing in one God and worshipping only one. We don't associate ourselves with shirk or anything of deviation in terms of theology. But we still divide ourselves in terms of which maslak to follow — are you Hanafi, Shafi'i, Ahl al-Hadith, and so on. Many of these disagreements, or at least differences of opinion, are valid opinions. But it becomes problematic when people use these valid differences of opinion to create partisanship, and then they start creating fitna among themselves.

In matters of the household — between a husband and wife, parents and their children — we will have some issues as well. Why? Because we have different personalities. People think differently, subhanAllah. We don't always think in the same way. So there will be some difference of opinion, there will be some arguments as well. But we are still ordered to unify the hearts and make sure we follow the path of unity.

Lifestyle and culture — if you look around you in this masjid, mashaAllah, you will see how diverse the Muslim community is. Many people come from different cultures, different backgrounds, different hopes and aspirations for themselves and for their families. A lot of things are different. Look at ourselves here in the community, alhamdulillah — in addition to these cultures that we've come together with, hopefully to unite ourselves around one principle, we still have different age groups. Age groups also create some kind of subcultural differences, subhanAllah. And among the brothers and the sisters there are some differences too. Differences of language and education and whatever else — subhanAllah — these create differences of opinion and sometimes actual disunity among the community.

Still though, we have been ordered and commanded to follow that which brings us together. As Muslims, specifically on a small scale like a masjid, we sometimes wonder why the whole world is divided when we cannot even get united around certain rules and principles in the masjid. It's not about who is going to be leading the community. It's about the cause. Why do we need to listen to each other and help each other and assist each other? Even if I disagree with you on something, why do I still need to be unified with you on the overall principle? That is the matter we need to look at here.

Unity Is Also Allah's Qadr — and His Command

So if it is part of the qadr of Allah to be divided and have differences of opinion and different cultures, then what about unity? How is that even possible? Well, like I said, unity and unifying the hearts is part of the qadr of Allah as well. Allah says:

Allah is telling us: indeed, this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord, so worship Me. Allah is telling us that with all these differences, as one community, as one Ummah, we need to be one — united. And united under one principle: that Allah is our Lord and we should all agree on this. We should all follow the path of worshipping Allah. If we can come together on this path, we will hopefully find the path towards unity.

And it is not just the qadr of Allah — it is actually the command of Allah. It is an order in the Quran:

Hold on tight to the rope of Allah altogether, and do not get divided amongst yourselves. So it is not only qadr to be united — it is the order and command of Allah. Some of the ulama call this the Shar'i qadr. There is the Kawni qadr — the universal qadr of Allah, the overall plan, which includes both unity and disagreement. But the Shar'i qadr of Allah is what I have been ordered to pursue and follow, and will be rewarded for if I go through the path of seeking unity. That is the command of Allah: hold on to the rope of Allah altogether, and do not get divided.

And it is not just the command of Allah — seeking unity is, as a matter of fact, the responsibility of the community. We, as one Muslim community, living in one area, in one masjid together, alhamdulillah, are responsible to observe and create a unified group and unified culture among ourselves. Allah says:

Allah says in this ayah: surely the believers are none but brothers unto one another, so set things right between your brothers and have fear of Allah that you may be shown mercy. What does that exactly mean? If we see disunity, if we see some disagreement among ourselves, it is my duty and your duty and everyone's duty in this community to make sure we come together to unify the hearts. Obviously, we are responsible for the effort — the results stay in the hand of Allah. I may not be able to do everything myself, but I'm sure collectively, as one community, one group inshallah, we will be able to do that.

The Prophetic Example: A Miracle of Unity

Some people wonder — what should we do then? What is the right way to do that? Well, if we go back and look into the life of the Prophet ﷺ, we see an amazing example. I don't know how many of you know the history of Arab culture before Islam, during the time of Jahiliyyah. They were the most divided people ever. The most divided people. They lived next to each other and still fought each other. People went into a war — a long war for more than 40 years — fighting each other for what? For a horse race. Just for a race. One horse against another, and they kept fighting each other for over 40 years, exterminating their own tribe, subhanAllah, just for that.

They were divided because of many, many different reasons, subhanAllah. How could a man like the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ come to such a very divided and divisive culture — which was based on bloodlines and lineage, and on the belief that they were better than everybody else, like many people think today about their own culture, اللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ — how did the Prophet ﷺ manage to bring all these people together? That's a secret. It is more like a miracle to bring these people together.

And that is exactly what Abu Sufyan perceived when he was standing with al-Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, as the Messenger of Allah was marching into Mecca with his followers. 10,000 people followed the Prophet ﷺ. When they came and besieged Mecca and were able to enter it peacefully, they were moving in — marching in battalions, one after the other, in groups of hundreds and thousands. And as they were coming in, each tribe was carrying its own banner.

Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Arab community in Mecca, was looking and wondering — who are these people? And al-Abbas was telling him: these are Banu Fulan, Banu Zuraiq, Banu Sulaym, all the different tribes and so on. For Abu Sufyan to see all these people together under one leadership — that was an impossible mission. How could it be possible among the Arabs to unify all these people? It had never been heard of before in the Arabian Peninsula.

So when he saw that, Abu Sufyan commented and told al-Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ who was standing with him: "The sovereignty of your nephew today is so great." When al-Abbas heard that, he was astonished at the response. Like — you don't see it? Really? Until this moment, you can't see it? And he told him: O Abu Sufyan, this is prophethood. What are you talking about? This is not the normal work of a human being to unify these people together. This is prophethood that made this for them. This is divine intervention. That's what it means.

Divine Intervention in Unifying Hearts

And indeed, when it comes to bringing hearts together, it requires divine intervention — whether it's between a husband and wife, brothers and sisters, community members, or leadership, whatever that is. Wallahi, it does require that divine intervention.

Allah mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ. When the Prophet came to Medina and unified between the Ansar among themselves — Aws and Khazraj — and then between Muhajirin and Ansar together, that was divine intervention. It wasn't just about uniting people. It was about uniting the hearts. And Allah made it very clear in the Quran. He says in Surah al-Anfal, to the Prophet ﷺ:

Allah told Muhammad ﷺ: He joined their hearts together — not just because of you. Allah brought them together. How? Had you gone to spend the riches of the whole world to bring their hearts together, you would not have been able to do it. But it is divine intervention — Allah brought their hearts together. He is Almighty, All-Wise.

And Allah says in Surah Al 'Imran:

Hold on to the rope of Allah altogether and do not get divided among yourselves. And remember the blessings of Allah which He bestows upon you — when you were enemies to each other and Allah united your hearts together. And then, by the blessings of Allah, by the ni'mah of Allah He bestowed upon you, you became brothers and sisters together. This is a great divine intervention from Allah.

Our Role: The Path to Earning Allah's Love

But does it happen without any effort from us? How can we attain this? Is it something we have no control over? There is a way, and Allah gave it to us — like, you start and I'll guide you through it. You begin and I'll give it to you. It is in our hands to bring this unity of the hearts to our community.

Allah says:

Those who truly believe and practice good deeds, Allah — the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful — will bring them together with wud. What is the meaning of wud here? Wud means love, with kindred hearts. Allah will bring their hearts in this kind of goodness — to love each other and to have this mercy towards one another. And that is what we need from Allah.

So how do we do it? Allah is telling us two things to start with. First, faith — that you believe in Allah, you have to put your trust in Allah. And number two, you need to do a good job. You need to do your work, you need to do your part. And Allah will guide the hearts. If we keep whining and complaining and just keep going on the path of disagreement and the path of division and expecting Allah in a miraculous way to bring that unity to us, it is going to be very hard.

Allah did not make it a mystery. It was made very clear how we can bring the hearts together. In the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim:

If Allah loves somebody, He will call Jibreel: "O Jibreel, I love this person, so love him." Jibreel immediately loves this person. And he doesn't keep it a secret — he calls upon the people of the heavens: "Allah loves this person, so everyone love him." And when that love spreads in the heavens, Allah sends down al-Qabool — acceptance — for them on earth. Wherever this person goes, man or woman, people's hearts feel easy towards this individual. They love this individual.

Are you one of those people when you go around and meet people, you always find, alhamdulillah, that people feel comfortable being around you? Or do you only have your own clique that you feel comfortable with because you cheerlead each other, and when you go out of that comfort zone you have a hard time communicating with other people? If this is the case, then your compass is a little bit off. Instead of worrying about the pleasure of the people, you need to worry about the pleasure of Allah. If you can please Allah, Allah will make the people pleased with you. But if you worry so much about the circle you're in — that you need to please them all the time to keep them around — then you will have a hard time really moving beyond that.

So fix your compass. It's not about pleasing people by saying what they need to hear or what they want to support them with. No. Fix your compass and work on pleasing Allah. Only then will you find that Allah sends that pleasure of the people for you in this dunya.

Allah says:

Say: if you love Allah, then follow me — the Prophet ﷺ. Follow his example. Allah will love you and forgive your sins for you.

In a hadith, a man asked the Prophet ﷺ:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4102; also reported by al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat)

Guide me to do something, O Messenger of Allah, that if I achieve it, I will gain the love of Allah and the love of the people — that Allah will love me and people will love me too. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: be indifferent to the dunya — don't take too much concern of this world, don't kill yourself for it. Work moderately. Be satisfied with what you have and don't always pursue something even in a haram way. Have this kind of less concern for the dunya, and Allah will love you. And have less concern for what people possess in their hands, and the people will love you.

When you always have that jealousy and envy, and you always talk about what people have — have they been blessed with this car, this house, this success — people hate that. When you always speak about yourself in front of people to make yourself feel better compared to what they have, people hate that. But when you don't worry too much about that and don't worry too much about the dunya, Allah will love you and the people will love you. Only then will you be able to unify the hearts around you and bring them together.

Practical Steps to Unify the Hearts

So here are a few things, inshallah, that I will share with you in regards to how we can unify the hearts. From the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ — it doesn't cost you much, really, but it will definitely have a great impact on the community, on your household, your group of friends and so on.

1. Smile

There is an emotional connection. The more you smile, the more you will connect with the people. Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2626)

Do not belittle any kind of good deed — even if it is just meeting your brother or your sister, meeting your friend, with a cheerful face. That in itself is an act of charity. It is a great good deed and wallahi it will connect the hearts together. That is why the Prophet ﷺ was the master in this field. Anas said: I have never seen the Prophet ﷺ but that he smiled in my face. And it is reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most smiling person you could ever think of. The Prophet ﷺ always smiled, subhanAllah. Why? Because I know you had a tough time, I had a tough time — we don't have to make it worse for each other. When you smile in the face of one another, you cheer each other up, alhamdulillah, and you create a better environment to connect and communicate with each other.

2. Say Salam to One Another

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 54)

I swear by Him in whose hand my soul is — you shall not enter al-Jannah until you believe, and you are not going to be true believers until you love each other. Shall I guide you to do something that if you achieve it, you will love each other? Say salam to each other. And the Prophet ﷺ also spoke about the handshake — that it removes al-ghil, which means animosity, rancor, or hatred from the heart, when you shake hands with one another. So make sure to do that more frequently, and smile in the face of one another, and say salam to each other — even if you know the person or you don't know the person.

3. Be Compassionate and Care

This is when you put your faith and your belief into action. You have to learn to care. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(al-Mu'jam al-Awsat by al-Tabarani, Hadith 6026; also reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak)

The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to others — those who serve others, those who help others, those who are compassionate and care about other people.

4. Exchange Gifts

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhari, Hadith 594; also reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

Shake hands and rancor and hatred will disappear. Exchange gifts with each other and you will love each other, and enmity will disappear. If you give gifts, then you will love one another. But when we say gift, it doesn't have to be expensive. Don't commercialize these beautiful values. Don't put a price tag on any of these beautiful values, because the ultimate value is with Allah. It doesn't matter how much it costs if it comes purely and sincerely from the heart.

May Allah make our hearts sincere. I say this and ask Allah to forgive me and you and all Muslims. Ask Him to forgive you. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah: Our Responsibility and the True Meaning of Being Muslim

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

My dear brothers and sisters, there is more that we could do to unify these hearts. But what we need to learn is that we are responsible to do our part. Those who sit on the sidelines watching division happening in the world, in the community, and on the small scale of their own household, and always make this an excuse not to even try to fix it, or not even try to be unified — that is not right. Allah would not be pleased with that attitude. Even though there is this division and difference of opinion and all these difficulties we sometimes have together — part of the qadr of Allah — we are still being ordered and commanded to look for the qadr of unity.

We have to understand that Islam, being a Muslim, is not just a noun. It is a verb. It is an action. Because being a Muslim means you submit yourself to Allah, to the will of Allah. What if it is hard and difficult for me? It doesn't matter — you submit yourself to Allah. That is the path of Ibrahim عليه السلام. We should follow that. So remember, you need to define yourself not as just being a Muslim in terms of a noun, but in terms of action — when you submit your will to Allah.

And Allah is the one who unifies the hearts, and I need to work on this. Instead of spending so much money and time and energy trying to unify people through events and this and that, how about we start with something we can all achieve — the little things that the Prophet ﷺ suggested for us that will bring the hearts together.

Unity Does Not Mean Uniformity

Finally, remember that when it comes to this, unity does not necessarily mean uniformity. Many people think that to be unified, you have to completely cancel all other differences that are considered legitimate differences. For example, I was born Arab. To find a Muslim community together, I don't have to change who I am as an identity in order to become someone else. You can still be who you are, where you came from, what your family is. You can still keep that. But we unify the hearts together. And the actions we have suggested will bring these hearts together.

May Allah bring the hearts of this community together. And may Allah make us among those who listen to the speech and follow the best of it. I ask Allah to shower us with His mercy, to shower us with blessings, and I ask Allah to make this gathering a blessed gathering. The way we gather in this space in this dunya, I ask Allah to gather us in Jannat al-Firdaws al-A'la, with the Nabiyyeen, Siddiqeen, Shuhada, and Saliheen. Alhamdulillah, Rabbil Alameen. Wa sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.