The Amazing Old Lady from Bani Israel

Opening — Praise and Testimony

And it will never change. You had a good day, it starts with Alhamdulillah. You had tough news, a tough day, it starts with Alhamdulillah.

Because you know Allah is always Al-Hakeem. And Rasulullah ﷺ would start the khutbah sometimes by saying, and I say it:

Alhamdulillah, thumma Alhamdulillah, thumma Alhamdulillah. We seek Allah's assistance and Allah's help. Wa nastaghfiru — we seek Allah's forgiveness.

Whoever Allah guides, no one in the world will be able to misguide. And whoever has been misguided — whoever was on the wrong and was told, "this is wrong, go to the right path," multiple times, but they were stubborn and arrogant — then Allah will take them even further away, and no one in the world can bring them back. Waman yudhlil fala hadiya lah.

And I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah. I testify that this forehead is to be on the floor to no one but Allah. We say La ilaha illa Allah — no one is worthy for us to give up our lives, our souls, our hayat and mamat, our sacrifice, and our salah, except to Allah. La ilaha illa Allah.

Muhammadun Rasulullah — we testify that Muhammad ﷺ is Allah's slave and Allah's messenger, alayhi salatu wasalam.

We ask Allah to protect us from the side effects of our sins. Min shururi anfusina — from the evil of our own selves. Wa min sayyiati a'malina — from the effects and the consequences of our sins.

Allah says in the Quran:

O you who believe, be conscious of Allah, remember Allah, be thoughtful of Allah, fear Allah the way Allah deserves to be feared. And do whatever is necessary, by all means, so that the day the angel of death comes to you, it comes to you when you're a Muslim. May Allah make it easy for us.

Wala tamutunna illa wa antum muslimoon. If it takes for you to move, you move. If it means leaving the family, you leave the family. To leave the country, you leave the country. To give up your soul, you give up your soul. La ilaha illa Allah.

But we pray to Allah to make it easy. May Allah make it easy for us. Nas'aluka al-'afiyah. Ease, Ya Rabb al-'alameen.

The Story of the Prophet and the Bedouin

One time, Rasulullah ﷺ was invited by an Arabi — a villager, a very humble man, in a very humble area, in a very humble house. Did he accept the invite? Yes, he did. Muhammad ﷺ went to the Arabi's house. This Bedouin honored the guest, i.e. Rasulullah ﷺ. And of course Rasulullah honored him by his presence.

Then the Prophet ﷺ told him, "Now, next time, you come over to my place. I'tina." So this man took the invite.

Something we learn here from Rasulullah ﷺ is to reciprocate. Ever happen that our mothers — may Allah bless them — whenever the neighbor used to give you a plate with a cake or food on it, your mom, many times, never brings it back empty? It has to have another meal on it. SubhanAllah. And that's what Rasulullah ﷺ advised us.

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1672)

He says: whoever does good to you, return it back. Someone invited you for a meal, you invite them for a meal. Someone gives you a gift, give him another gift. Fakafi'u. Then he said: if you're unable to — because sometimes we receive a favor so big we can never return it, especially from our mothers and fathers — then fad'u lahu: make du'a, and make du'a, and make du'a, until you feel that you have reciprocated. Obviously with parents, you make du'a until the day you return back to Allah. May Allah have rahmah on our moms and dads. Ameen, Rabb al-'Alameen.

So Rasulullah ﷺ tells the Bedouin: "Next time, come over to my place." Indeed, the Arabi goes to Muhammad ﷺ's place. And Rasulullah ﷺ honored the guest.

Once he was honoring the guest and it was pretty much done, before the Arabi leaves, the Prophet ﷺ asked him one question. He said: "Is'al mashia" — ask, make a wish. Allahu Akbar. And who is saying this? Muhammad ﷺ is telling this Bedouin: ask for whatever you want.

So what does he ask for? He says: I want a pregnant camel, and a lot of ma'iz — sheep and goats — so I can have it and pass it down to my family. That's my wish.

The Amazing Old Lady from Bani Israel

So Rasulullah ﷺ is going to give us all — the Ummah of Muhammad — a teaching lesson from right here. He tells the Sahaba:

"Were you not able to be like the old lady from the children of Israel?"

Who is the old lady from Bani Israel? We're talking thousands of years ago. This Arabi, when he was asked, "What would you like? Make a wish," he said: a camel and some goats. So Rasulullah ﷺ shares with us a story in this authentic hadith.

He says: the Children of Israel were seeking to escape Egypt and run away from Fir'aun. As they were approaching the sea — before the sea split — they lost their way. So Musa alayhi wasalam was struggling: "Where is the way? We've lost the way. What's going on?"

The scholars from Bani Israel at that time told Musa: "I think we know why." They said: Yusuf alayhi wasalam — the first one from Bani Israel to move to Egypt — as he was dying, he told Bani Israel: "If you ever want to leave Egypt, take my body with you." And we did not take his body.

So Musa alayhi wasalam said: "Okay, where is his body? Let's dig the grave. If that is the command of the Prophet, we honor the command." They said: "No one knows it — SubhanAllah — except one person."

Who is that person? The old lady from Bani Israel. Dulluni alayha — where is she? She comes forward. The only one who knows where the grave of Prophet Yusuf alayhi wasalam is.

So Musa alayhi wasalam asks her: "Ayna al-qabr?" — Where is the grave? She said:

"No. By Allah, I will not tell you until you grant me my wish."

And this is the whole crux of the story that the Prophet ﷺ is telling you — because of this very moment. Now there is an opportunity, between Prophet Musa and the old lady. He wants to compare it to the moment between the Bedouin and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

And Musa asked: "Wa ma su'luki?" — What's your wish? What is it that you want in return? The man asked for a camel and goats. Is she going to ask for a castle? A mansion? Righteous progeny? It's all khair, it's all good.

She said: "I want one thing. One thing only."

"To be your neighbor and companion in Jannah, Ya Musa." Allahu Akbar.

Fakariha Musa an yu'atiya hadhalik — Musa alayhi wasalam was somewhat taken aback and did not feel moved enough to make du'a to Allah for her. In what sense? "You're just telling me the location of the grave. That's it." And you know, when you are truly moved, then you make du'a with your whole heart — "Ya Rabb, Ya Rabb" — you're completely into it. He wasn't really into it.

People give up their lives. People die on battlefields. People donate everything they have. People leave countries and emigrate. All of this for Jannah. And you want to go to Jannah and be with the prophets just because of a piece of information — directing me to where the grave is?

Allah revealed to Musa: "Tell her — her wish is granted." Allahu Akbar. She will have the best spot in Jannah, as a companion to the prophets. Because Allah saw in that lady what no one else could see. He saw the heart. The heart was filled with love for Allah. The heart was filled with love for the akhira, for Jannah, and for being with the prophets of Allah.

When Your True Colors Appear

And that's when our true colors appear — when we have the opportunity. How many say, "I want to memorize the Quran, I really want to memorize the Quran"? Then the Masjid does a hafidh program. Do you show up? That's when your true colors appear. Ya akhi, if the mission expands, if there's a fundraiser — will you donate? "I'm struggling." SubhanAllah. That's when your true colors appear.

So she always used to say: "I want to be with the prophets in Jannah." She had a golden opportunity. She could ask for anything in this world and the next. And she asked for that. Her true colors appeared.

High Ambition — Aim for Al-Firdaws

So when Rasulullah ﷺ told the Sahaba this story, he wanted them to learn from this lady: himmah 'aliyah — high ambition. Don't say, "Akhi, if all I get is just to enter Jannah, even the first level — wallahi, I'm good." That's not the attitude of a believer.

Rasulullah ﷺ says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2790)

If you ask Allah for Jannah, ask for the highest level in Jannah. "But I don't deserve it." We don't deserve any level, people. No one deserves any level — not even Muhammad ﷺ. How is that? He ﷺ said: "No one goes to Jannah due to their actions alone." They said: "Ya Rasulallah, not even you?" He said: "Not even me. My actions alone do not qualify me."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5673; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2816)

"Unless Allah showers me with His mercy." So to receive Allah's mercy, the prerequisite is the actions — but actions alone will never get me there.

But let's continue to know what happened. The old lady said: "I got it, you got it." Here's the grave. They walked with her, everybody following. Where is it? It was a pond — there was water. She said: empty the water. They got the buckets and emptied it. Then she said: uhfuru — dig. And they start digging and digging, until they saw the body of Yusuf alayhi wasalam. They picked it up.

And the moment they picked up the body — for those who know, Musa alayhi wasalam had escaped with Bani Israel during the night — the hadith says: the moment they grabbed the body, the light was so clear that they were able to know the exact destination, the exact location.

And here's a side point this shows us: they lost the way even though the leader was Prophet Musa. So sometimes a community or a group of people may lose the way — not because of bad leadership, but because of the followers. Musa was the leader, yet they lost the way. They obeyed the command of Yusuf — "take my body with you when you leave" — and they got the body. Then Allah showed light and nur. And nur will come your way and my way when we follow the commands of the Prophets alayhi wasalam.

So have this high ambition, have this high hope in Allah, think well of Allah. Many people ask: "How do I know if I'm honest? How do I know if I'm sincere?" Those moments that you always wished for will come, inshAllah. And when they come, you will know whether you were truly honest the day you made that wish.

I seek Allah's forgiveness. And we all want Allah's forgiveness. In these few seconds that we sit, inshAllah, I say this — ask Allah's forgiveness. You always want Allah to forgive you? This is it. Some ulama say this is sa'at al-istijabah — this is the hour Allah accepts anything you ask for between the two khutbahs. So I'm going to sit, I'm going to make du'a, you make du'a — may Allah accept from all of us.

Second Khutbah — The Gates of Jannah and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq

Bismillah, was-salatu was-salamu 'ala Rasulillah, wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wasallim. May Allah increase our love towards Him and towards the actions that lead us to His love. And may Allah make us love the people who love Allah.

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu, along with the Sahaba, was hearing a hadith. Rasulullah ﷺ says: Jannah has gates. One gate is the gate of salah — the people who excel in salah will enter. There is another gate, the gate of siyam — Baab al-Rayyan — those who excel in fasting will go through it. There is a gate of sadaqah and charity — those who excel in charity will go through it. There is a gate of jihad — those who gave up their lives for Allah and strove in His path — that is their gate.

At the end of the hadith, after explaining the gates, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq asks a question: "Ya Rasulallah, is it possible for one person to be called from all the gates?" Allahu Akbar. Is it possible for someone to be qualified for all of them?

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1897; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1027)

"Yes, and you will be one of them, inshAllah." Allahu Akbar.

He's saying — wallah — one door is enough? That's not the attitude. We don't do this in dunya. Those who excel in college and high school, you know how many ribbons they put? The blue ribbon, the yellow ribbon, citizen awards, full-ride scholarship, internship, highest grades — MVP in football. In dunya, we want to get everything. But this is what Abu Bakr was — "I want everything in the akhira." Not gonna settle for two gates, I want all of them.

Was he truthful? Of course he was. He's a Siddiq. But let me show you another example of his truthfulness. Rasulullah ﷺ asked the Sahaba one day — and actually you can ask yourself this question now and any other day, inshAllah:

"Man minkum?" — Who amongst you in this gathering donated today? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq raised his hand.

Question two of four: Who amongst you is fasting today? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq raised his hand. Some people raised their hand for the first one but not the second.

Question three: Who amongst you prayed the janazah — the funeral prayer — today? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq raised his hand. All three.

And who amongst you visited a sick person today? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was the only one to raise his hand on all four. Then the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1028)

No human being does all four in one day — in the same day — except that Jannah is theirs, inshAllah.

So next time there is a janazah and you get an announcement, try to fast that day. Pray the janazah, give in charity, and visit a sick person. You see how Abu Bakr as-Siddiq walked the talk? Allahu Akbar. His true colors appeared.

The Teenager Who Served the Prophet

And I'll end with this one, inshAllah. Last one. A teenager. Allahu Akbar. A wonderful Sahabi radiyallahu anhu, a young man. He used to give the Prophet wudu — wudu here meaning the water used for wudu. So Rasulullah ﷺ was so pleased with him one time and said:

"Ya Rabi'ah, sel" — make a wish.

A teenager. Wallah, if he had asked for a righteous wife, we'd all understand. Progeny, money — all make sense, nothing wrong. But this wonderful teenager told Rasulullah ﷺ:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 489)

"I want to be your companion in Jannah, Ya Rasulallah. Shoulder to shoulder. I want to be your neighbor in Jannah."

So the Prophet says: "Awa ghayra dhalik?" — Anything besides this? He said: "Huwa dhak" — this and only this. Allahu Akbar.

May Allah grant us love towards the Prophet ﷺ. So the Prophet now tells him the action to follow up with:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 489)

"So help me help you by praying as much as you can." The more you pray, the higher the chances for you to be the neighbor of the Prophet ﷺ. May Allah make us his neighbors.

So next time you're a bit tired to pray — remember this. Next time you're tired to pray the sunnah — remember this. Next time you're tired to pray the two raka'at of wudu — remember this hadith. Pray as much as you can. It increases your chances to be closer and closer and closer to your most beloved, Muhammad alayhi salatu wasalam.

Closing Du'a

O Allah, have mercy upon us with Your mercy that encompasses all things. O Allah, forgive all of our shortcomings and sins. Ya Allah, You are the Most Merciful. O Allah, grant us Your love, and the love of those who love You, and the love of the deeds that bring us closer to Your love.

O Allah, lift the hardship and the oppression from those who are oppressed, across the globe — Ya Rabb al-'Alameen, Ya Arham al-Rahimeen.

O Allah, bless this masjid. And bless everyone in this masjid. And bless the community behind this masjid. Ya Allah, honor everyone who helps support La ilaha illallah — financially, verbally, physically, in any way. Ya Allah, You see everything. You are the Most Appreciative. And may Allah reward you all with the best reward. Wa aqeemus salah.