Staying sincere for the cause

Staying Sincere for the Cause

Except for him, and we bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.

Dear brothers and sisters, as time goes on — I've been planning this khutbah for a while — and I think now is the time for us to actually ask ourselves this question, as it has now been over two months since the unfolding atrocities have captured our hearts and captured our attention, and alhamdulillah activated our community in a way that it has never been activated before, activated our ummah in a way that it has never been activated before.

And the question is: are we sincere in our activism? Are we sincere in doing what we are doing for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Anything that I have put forth — whether it's attending a protest, or sharing something, or doing something — is it sincere or not?

And I want everyone to understand from the very start that the purpose of asking this question is not to deflate our efforts when we are already starting to see them wane due to the length of this atrocity. But it's actually to re-energize them. Because if you put ikhlas, if you put sincerity back into it, and you recalibrate in accordance with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala calls us to be called to, then you actually bring forth an added blessing to the types of work that we are trying to do, insha'Allah ta'ala, seeking to bring about change in the world around us — and especially right now for our brothers and sisters in Palestine.

The Hadith of the First to Be Judged

Now, there's an interesting hadith that we start with, and I always like to go to the context of the hadith and to the narrator, because it gives you a sense of how the Companions themselves used to interact with this hadith.

Abu Hurayra radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu was in al-Sham — the area of Greater Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan — the place of shuhada, the place of anbiya, the place of prophets and martyrs. And as he was narrating, a group of people came up to him at the end of his giving lessons on behalf of the Prophet ﷺ, and they said to him: أيها الشيخ — ayyuha shaykh — "Oh shaykh," meaning it both in terms of his knowledge as well as his seniority: حدثنا حديثاً سمعته من رسول الله ﷺ — "Tell us what you heard from the Prophet ﷺ, give us a hadith, something precious, something special that we can keep near and dear to our hearts."

And Abu Hurayra radiyaAllahu anhu is interacting with a context that is very different — Islam has spread to al-Sham and it is taking root in al-Sham, and you are starting to see opening after opening after opening. So they said: "Give us something." And Abu Hurayra radiyaAllahu anhu, as he starts to narrate this hadith, he cries. And he goes again, and he starts to narrate on behalf of the Prophet ﷺ: "I heard the Prophet ﷺ say..." And then he starts to cry again. And he does so a third time, and he starts to cry again. And then he says: "I heard the Prophet ﷺ say..."

(Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 4923)

The Prophet ﷺ said that the first person to be judged on the Day of Judgment will be a shaheed — a martyr — who is brought forth in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah will mention His blessings, His favors upon that person, and the person will acknowledge all of those blessings. And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will say: فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا؟ — "What did you do with those blessings?" So he would say: قَاتَلْتُ فِيكَ حَتَّى اسْتُشْهِدْتُ — "I fought in Your cause until I lost my life." And Allah would say: كَذَبْتَ — "You have lied." وَلَكِنَّكَ قَاتَلْتَ لِأَنْ يُقَالَ جَرِيءٌ — "Rather, you fought so that people would say: what a brave man you are, what a courageous man you are." In another narration: شُجَاع. "You wanted that to be said, and it was said."

Now the shaheed is the first person — subhanAllah. We know the rank of a martyr on the Day of Judgment, and we've been speaking about it for these months. In this hadith, the Prophet ﷺ goes on to mention a scholar who only taught or who only recited the Quran so people would praise their recitation or their knowledge, and someone who gave charity only so that people would say كريم — "Generous" — and it was said, and there is nothing left on the Day of Judgment.

The first person mentioned in the sequence is a shaheed, a martyr. Now if that person has to take into account their intentions — with the greatest sacrifice — that means that all of us have to be extra careful with our intentions. Because a person indeed could get caught up with what would be said and what they are projecting of themselves, rather than what is actually of them. And this has broad implications now.

Why the Shaheed? The Wisdom of Ibn Taymiyyah

Why the shaheed? And I want to start with that, because it is perplexing in many ways. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah said that the best of people are the anbiya — the best of people are the prophets. And that's why the worst person on earth is a false prophet. The best of people are the anbiya, the prophets of Allah. And the worst category of people that have walked the face of the earth — and they continue to show themselves in every generation — are people who falsely claim prophethood, the false prophets.

Then he said: you go to the next categories — الصِّدِّيقُون، الشُّهَدَاء، الصَّالِحُون، الْعُلَمَاء، الْمُخْلِصُون — people of truth, people of martyrdom, people of scholarship, people of sincerity. And he said: they are the best people. Therefore, the worst people are those who claim to be of them when they are the exact opposite of those things — may Allah protect us.

So he said: you've got the columns. You have all of these noble qualities, all of these noble people. To pretend to be one of them with no intention of actually embedding what made them noble is of the greatest signs of hypocrisy — may Allah protect us.

And so in our situation, when we look at ourselves in a moment where we're all suddenly becoming activists, and we are all suddenly taking to the streets, and we are showing up as we should show up — let's remember that it's not about us. It's about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and those people that we are advocating for.

And of the worst things — as the ulama mention — of the worst things that a person hates to be called is a coward. And especially in the context of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions: being called a coward is what drove some of Quraysh to the battlefield on the day of Badr. They didn't actually want to be there, but Abu Jahl went to them and he called them cowards, and they said: "No, we're not cowards." They actually didn't care about going and fighting against the Prophet ﷺ, but being called a coward is so despicable that it drove them to the battlefield — and they lost their lives in Badr, they lost their lives in falsehood.

On the other hand, of the most beloved things to be called is courageous — شُجَاع، جَرِيء. Everyone wants to be called courageous, brave. Of all of the categories of things that people will say — generous, knowledgeable — courageous is up there. Children, it's in their fitrah: they want to be courageous, and we encourage courage as we should. But if it's insincere, it could drive a person to even be willing to give their lives, their whole existence.

Think about the logic: you're not even around to hear people praise you, but you would be willing to die so that your name could be praised. It's a strange logic. It's strange. But it happens — that a person says: "I want to go down in the history books like this." Who cares if you're not around to narrate the history books, or have them narrated to you? Instead, you want to go down in Allah's books like this? Then that's the noble intention. Because it's greater than you — it's greater than you hearing your name being praised.

The Man Who Fought Bravely — But for the Wrong Reasons

And so there's cowardice and then there is courage, and everyone loves courage, everyone hates to be considered or looked down upon as a coward. And he — Abu Hurayra — goes on to speak about how, in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, when you're looking at intentions and sincerity, he says: شَهِدْنَا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ — "We went out with the Prophet ﷺ on a particular battle." فَقَالَ لِرَجُلٍ مِمَّنْ يَدَّعِي الْإِسْلَامَ — "The Prophet ﷺ said about a person who claimed to be Muslim" — and this is an important part of this hadith, which I'll explain — he claimed that he was Muslim. The Prophet ﷺ said: هُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ — "He is a person of the Fire."

Imagine: before the battle starts, a man coming out saying Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illallah, showing off his sword and showing off his skills, showing that he's willing to go all the way and be the hero of the day. And the Prophet ﷺ said: هُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ — "That is a person of the Fire."

So Abu Hurayra radiyaAllahu anhu says: فَلَمَّا حَضَرَ الْقِتَالُ قَاتَلَ الرَّجُلُ قِتَالًا شَدِيدًا — once the battle took place, the man was fighting bravely, courageously. He was out there, he was doing everything that we would glorify a man like Hamza radiyaAllahu anhu for, or Talha, al-Zubayr, or Ali — may Allah be pleased with them all. He was out there. And eventually he was wounded. The people came back to the Prophet ﷺ and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2898; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 211)

"Oh Messenger of Allah, that man you said was a person of the Fire — he fought so bravely and he died, he lost his life." And the Prophet ﷺ repeated: إِلَى النَّارِ — "To the Fire."

Then they came to the Prophet ﷺ and — Abu Hurayra says — كَادَ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ أَنْ يَرْتَابَ — some of the Muslims started to have doubts. This is too much, this is perplexing. And then it was revealed that this man, at night, had succumbed to his wounds and took his own life. He took his own life. And so subhanAllah, his reality was shown — that it wasn't for the truth that the others were there for.

And the Prophet ﷺ said: إِنَّ اللهَ يُؤَيِّدُ هَذَا الدِّينَ بِالرَّجُلِ الْفَاجِرِ — that it may be that sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives victory to the deen through a wicked person. His intentions were not noble, he wasn't there for the right reasons, and yes, something came out of him that day — but it wasn't for the right reasons.

Now — why I said this is an important component to build upon — these people that are being spoken about are hypocrites that know they are doing it for show. What about someone who wants to be sincere and doesn't think it is for show? And that's where you start to look for the signs. These are people that embodied hypocrisy and they knew it — they knew they were not doing these noble things for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They knew they were doing it for the glory — the glory of the cause — before social media, before anything that would cause anything to be broadcasted. They knew they were there for falsehood and they disguised themselves with truth.

But what about the rest of us, when there might be some signs of it?

Five Signs of Insincerity That Could Overtake a Believer

What are the signs of insincerity that could overtake a believer? And there are five things that the scholars mention. And it is more important now than ever for us to remind ourselves and to renew ourselves.

1. A Person Who Does Not Renew Their Intentions

It starts with that. We're a religion where we are taught to renew our intentions every single day, every single morning, before every single act of worship. And so naturally, with the extensions of that — renew your intention. Why do you do what you do?

2. A Person Who Does Not Embed the Private Components of That Goodness

When others are not paying attention — if the only time you do good work is when other people see it, then that's a sign that it's not actually for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because you should be acting for the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The public nature of something that you do should be an extension of the work and a necessity of the cause — not something that you actively seek. So if you ditch the private and only do the public, then that is a sign of insincerity as well.

3. That You Are Disappointed When You Are Not Celebrated

That you are disappointed when you are not acknowledged by people. A person should not be disappointed when they're not acknowledged. The person should instead say alhamdulillah — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved my ajr, saved my good, all the way for that Day, and I hope to preserve some of it.

4. That You Quit When You Are Attacked

One of the greatest signs that public service is for the public is when the public turns on you and you ditch the service. So when someone gets involved in something good and they get punched in the process — not physically, no one should be punching you physically, but metaphorically you get punched in the process — and that causes you to abandon public good. You say: "The people don't appreciate me, therefore I will not do any more for the people." Well, then that's a sign that you weren't doing it for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the first place. And so you don't abandon the cause when you are not celebrated, you don't quit when you are attacked.

5. You Don't Walk Away When Everybody Else Walks Away

SubhanAllah. Things capture our attention and everybody gets excited about a noble cause, and then eventually attention moves on. Our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter and shorter. Our attention moves on. And there are going to be people that are going to look around and say: "No one's talking about this anymore. No one's posting about it anymore. No one's protesting anymore. No one's praying about it anymore. No one's giving to it anymore. I guess we can all move on now."

Your sincerity will show in your ability to stay committed once everybody else has moved on. And this is especially true for Palestine — how many times in the past have things, quote-unquote, "flared up," and everyone got on board, but then as quickly as everyone got on board, everyone got off board as well. Sincerity is to stay committed when everybody else moves on.

The Fine Line — and the Most Important Point

And I want to end with this point in particular. Someone might say: "When I do this stuff, I don't know if I'm protesting for the sake of Allah anymore. I don't know if I'm posting for the sake of Allah anymore. I don't really know if I'm giving for the sake of Allah anymore. I don't know if I'm showing up for the sake of Allah anymore. What's the fine line? Should we completely eliminate the public element of this cause, when our greatest strength is the publicizing of this cause? What's the fine line? I don't know if I should be doing any more."

And I want us to leave with this thought, insha'Allah ta'ala:

One sincere servant to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is better than a thousand insincere people to a good cause. One sincere servant is better to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than a thousand insincere people. But one thousand servants struggling with their sincerity is better to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than one sincere servant. One thousand people who make it part of their mujahidah, part of their striving — to continuously strive against their intentions and continuously make sure that they're there for the right reasons, doing for the right reasons — is far more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than one person who has seemingly already arrived.

If you listened to this whole khutbah and you thought of everybody else but yourself — please turn that lens inwards. None of us are immune. Otherwise, Abu Hurayra radiyaAllahu anhu, who was narrating the hadith, would not have cried three times and wept before he could even get the hadith out of his mouth. We're all imperfect, striving servants to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But do not think at any point that your intentions are immune — whatever it is that you're doing — or that it's unimportant to keep on checking your intentions. I don't care how often we are doing what we're doing — recalibrate every single day, every single time you do anything.

Something as simple as posting something on social media — if you can take a moment and renew your intention with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, do it at that moment. And keep your private worship for your brothers and sisters as much as your public activism. Now is not the time to remove our private worship — now is the time to inject it into our public work. Because that's what's going to cause us to outlast everybody else, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala.

And your Lord is just, your Lord is merciful — as long as you are striving. None of us will be perfect in our activism, and none of us will be perfect in our sincerity. But your Lord is just and your Lord is Most Merciful.

"And your striving is appreciated." Your Lord is grateful for your efforts, so long as you are trying to make sure that those efforts remain for Him and for Him alone.

Du'a

May Allah purify our hearts. May Allah purify our intentions. May Allah purify our deeds. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow all of us to do solely for Him, and in a way that solely benefits our brothers and sisters in Palestine and the oppressed all over the world.