The Prophet and Optimism

اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ, اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ, اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ, اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اَللهُ, أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اَللهُ

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اَللهِ, أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اَللهِ

حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ, حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ

حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ, حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ

اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ, اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ, لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اَللهُ

The Prophet's Response to the Day of Uhud

She asked the Prophet ﷺ and she said, did you ever experience a day that was more difficult than the day of Uhud? The Prophet ﷺ responded to her, and we know the day of Uhud was the day that he lost Hamza, the day that 70 companions were martyred. The Prophet ﷺ himself was injured on the day of Uhud. It was a day that had begun for the Muslims and then it ended with something that was a seeming loss, although it was victory for the believers.

But it was a very difficult day. And Aisha asked if he had ever experienced a day that was actually more difficult. And the Prophet ﷺ, he said, yes, your people have troubled me a lot.

And the worst day was the day of Al-'Aqaba, when I presented myself to Ibn Abd Yalail, and he did not respond to my demand. And so I disparted and overwhelmed with excessive sorrow, proceeded on and could not relax until I found myself in Qarna Tha'alib. The Prophet ﷺ is describing the event when he went to give or call the people of Al-Ta'if to Islam after having being expelled or having been rejected by the people of Mecca.

The Prophet at Ta'if

And the Rasulullah ﷺ after going to Al-Ta'if, he was ridiculed, he was stoned by the children and the foolish people of Al-Ta'if. And the Prophet ﷺ wondered until he had reached a far distance in his gham, in his distress and in his sadness. Until he saw and he looked up and he said, I saw Jibreel and he called me and he said, Allah has heard your people saying to you and what they have replied back to you.

And Allah has sent the angels of the mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you wish with these people. The Prophet ﷺ has been rejected, he's been insulted, he's been ridiculed, he's been injured. And now he has the opportunity, the angel of the mountains is there.

And if he had wished for the mountains to be collapsed and vengeance to be enacted, he had that license. And the Prophet ﷺ, the angel of the mountains, greeted him and said, Oh Muhammad, order what you wish. If you would like, I will have the two mountains fall on them.

And the Prophet ﷺ said, No, but I hope that Allah will beget children who will worship Allah alone and will worship none besides Him. That Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى will extract from their loins, from their lineage, those who will worship Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى alone. The Prophet ﷺ showcases incredible optimism, even by a people who reject him, even by a people who he, the person with the most integrity in his da'wah, the person who was most sincere in his da'wah.

The Prophet's Mercy Even When Rejected

And when he has the opportunity to enact punishment on them, compare this with some of the companions, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, who went and he gave da'wah to his people, or other companions who went and they gave da'wah to the people of Daws, and they came back and they said, Ya Rasulullah, the people of Daws have rejected Islam. So, make du'a that Daws be destroyed. There is an anger that comes when a person may call people to goodness, and they reject that goodness.

And so the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and he said:

O Allah, guide the people of Daws and bring them to Islam. Similarly, even when the Prophet ﷺ himself is the one who's injured, he still is asking Allah that they be guided to Islam. The Prophet ﷺ was optimistic in his da'wah.

The Prophet's Teaching on Good Signs

The Prophet ﷺ taught us to be optimistic always. Rasulullah ﷺ, he said that, I like al-fa'il, I like good signs. It is not precise that we say that Muslims don't believe in signs.

But rather, Muslims don't believe in bad omens, we don't believe in evil signs. But the Prophet ﷺ used to like good signs. And the Prophet ﷺ was asked, what is al-fa'il? And he said, it is a good word.

The Prophet ﷺ used to connect good words with good outcomes. And Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه answers the question, why is it that we are not allowed to have bad omens, bad superstition? And yet we are allowed to have good omens, good signs. And he said, because it is an extension of حُسْنِ الظَّنِّ بِاللَّهِ.

It is an extension of good expectation of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى. The reason why I'm not allowed to believe in 13 being bad luck, or a black cat crossing the street is bad luck, or what have you. Whereas I am able to believe that when Rasulullah ﷺ hears a man who's brought to him in the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, and his name is Suhail ibn Amr, and he's the negotiator being sent by the mushrikeen.

Rasulullah ﷺ hears the word Suhail, and Suhail means the one, the little easy one. And so the Prophet ﷺ said:

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى has made your affair easy, because of the derivation of the name. And so this idea of being able to see goodness and expect goodness in every turn, is an extension of a person thinking good of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى.

Expectation From Allah and His Attributes

A person were to look at the script of their life, do you think that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى would write for you the worst? A person everywhere they go, they're looking out for the worst outcome. They're afraid of everything around the corner, and they think that this is going to harm them, and this is going to harm them, and this is going to harm them. Why would you expect from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى who we believe the opposite of? We believe that He is Al-Hakim, we believe that Allah is Al-Ra'uf, we believe that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى is Al-Rahman, we believe that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى is Al-'Afu, we believe that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى is Al-Karim.

These are the names, these are the attributes that we believe about Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى, and so a person should, when their Lord is a Lord of goodness, they should look for goodness. Even in the difficulty that they experienced. Allah says:

Allah says that, with every difficulty is ease. And then Allah, you know this, the grammarians, the scholars, they mentioned that Allah made الْعُسْرُ مُعَرَّفُ بِالْأَلِفِ وَاللَّامِ. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it al-usr, He made it definite with the alif-laam, and it's repeated in both verses which indicates that it's talking about the same hardship. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it yusr, He made it indefinite. And so it indicates that it is a different ease.

And so the scholars they said, لَنْ يَغْلِبَ عُسْرٌ يُسْرَيْنِ. That one difficulty will not overwhelm two eases. That with every difficulty comes multiple eases, not a single one. The Prophet ﷺ is the most transformative leader in history.

The Prophet's Attention to Names

And so we should pay attention to the things that the Prophet ﷺ paid attention to. And one of the things that the Prophet ﷺ paid attention to is people's names. It's very interesting, Rasulullah ﷺ if he came across a person with a bad name, he would change it.

And you might think like, that's incidental to a person, that doesn't really affect the person's personality, it doesn't affect their psychology, it doesn't affect... In fact, we might even come up with horrible nicknames for people. It's a cute nickname for my family, for my brother, for my sister, for my kids. It's a horrible nickname.

Allah ﷻ says:

Allah says, do not insult each other with nicknames. The Prophet ﷺ in many occasions changed people's names. I'll give you a few examples.

Rasulullah ﷺ, he changed the names of Hazn ibn Wahb. And Hazn ibn Wahb, that which is difficult, the Prophet ﷺ said to him, no, you are sahl. And he said to him, I will not change the name which my father has named me.

He was the grandfather of Sa'id ibn Musayyib. And Sa'id ibn Musayyib is narrating this hadith, where his grandfather refused for the name change of the Prophet ﷺ. His name meant difficult, hard. And the Prophet ﷺ said, you're easy. And he said, I'm not going to change my name. And so Sa'id ibn Musayyib commented and he said, roughness has been on our character ever since. It's just been one generation to the next.

We were... And Ibn Hajar mentions that they were known for their difficulty. The family of Sa'id ibn Musayyib, his ancestry, they were known for their bad manners. The Prophet ﷺ changed the name of Asiya. Asiya meaning the one who's defiant. The Prophet ﷺ changed her name. He changed the name of Harb and called him Silm.

He changed the name of war. And he made him named peace. You know the story of the Prophet ﷺ changing the name of Harb, who Ali ibn Abi Talib radiallahu anhu wanted to name his son. And the Prophet ﷺ said to him, no, his name isn't war. His name is al-Hasan, the beautiful. And then again the Prophet ﷺ changed the name of al-Husayn.

Because Ali ibn Abi Talib had named him Harb again. And the Prophet ﷺ said, no, he's al-Husayn, the little beautiful one. The Prophet ﷺ changed the name of a land that was called Shi'ab al-Dalala, the mountain path of misguidance. And he called it Shi'ab al-Huda, the mountain path of guidance. The Prophet ﷺ changed the name of Banu al-Zinya, the children of fornication. And he called them Banu al-Rushda, the children of those who are on the right path.

I want you to pay attention to, even in the United States, you have a lot of names that are very negative. Little towns, little... But paying attention to the effect. For example, one of the famous cities is Las Vegas. What's its nickname? Sin City. And that becomes a license. You have all of these phrases, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, and what have you.

And all of this facilitates the psychology of the people of that city. And the psychology of those who when they enter into that city, what they expect, or what they imagine is possible there. And so the Prophet ﷺ would transform the names of individuals, he would transform the names of places, he would transform the names of tribes even, all because of the effect, as well as hoping for an optimistic outcome for them and their lives afterwards.

Optimism About Oneself

Also, that a person be optimistic about themselves. Rasulullah ﷺ he said, that:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

One of you should never say that my soul has become evil, that my soul has become khabith, filthy, impure, evil. Rather he should say:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

Let them say that my soul is in difficulty or it's in bad shape. But just that idea of being khabith an-nafs, the Prophet ﷺ said a person should never say that. A person should always look at themselves with optimism. The Prophet ﷺ he says, in another hadith, and by the way with that the scholar said that a person should never say that, حَالِي لَسْتُ بِطَيِّبٍ. That a person should never say that I'm not good.

How are you doing? Not good. But rather they should say, I am, right now I'm currently in a state of weakness or something of that nature because wording affects a person's psychology and it affects a person's self-perception. And the Prophet ﷺ even showcases to us the effects that words may have on a person's future.

The Example of the Bedouin Arab

In the example of the man who came to Rasulullah ﷺ, or rather the Prophet ﷺ went to him to visit a Bedouin Arab. And it's reported by Al-Bukhari. And the man was sick. And when Rasulullah ﷺ came to him he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

There's no harm on you inshallah. And the man said, rather he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

He said, this is a Huma that is, it's inflamed over an old man that will send him to Al-Qaboor, send him to the grave. And so the Prophet ﷺ he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

Then it will be. He came to him saying, لَا بَأْسَ. Inshallah you're gonna be okay, it's going to be purification. And this man is saying, no, this is going to kill me. And so the Prophet ﷺ said, then it will.

Al-Bukhari doesn't have this but Al-Tabarani added that the man passed away. And so this person's expectation may lead a person into more difficulty. It could even lead a person to death. A person being optimistic may lead a person to healing. A person being optimistic in Allah ﷻ, optimistic in goodness. You know a Bedouin man, another Bedouin man was asked.

And he said, it was said to him, إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ. You're gonna die. And he said, then what? They said, then it's to Allah. He said, what's the problem? Every good I've ever experienced is from Allah.

أَفَأَخْشَىٰ لِقَاءَ. So then should I be afraid of meeting Allah ﷻ? How is that going to scare me when every good I've ever experienced is from Allah ﷻ?

For Those Who Cannot Be Optimistic by Nature

What if a person... What if a person can't be optimistic? They're just negative by nature. The Prophet ﷺ he says, in the hadith of Abu Dharr. Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه. He says:

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi)

What is the best of actions? And the Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi)

Belief in Allah and jihad in His path. And then he said:

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi)

Which freeing of a slave is best? And he said, the most expensive and the one that's most desired to their master. That you go and you free that one.

And then he said, فَإِنْ لَمْ أَفْعَلْ. If I can't do that. He said, if you can't afford to do that, then help a laborer or help someone who's disabled. Someone that you assist someone in some way.

And then he said, what if I can't do that? He said:

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi)

He said that you refrain yourself from your evil to other people. That becomes a صَدَقَة that you spend on yourself. I can't help the community in any way. I can't volunteer. I can't give charity. I can't support in any way. You know the صَدَقَة that I can give? I can give the صَدَقَة of not being negative.

You know they say, when people criticize, they should not let, when people criticize and say something that can't be done, they should at least step out of the way of those who are doing it. Meaning that if I cannot do, then let me not be someone who is harming those who are. If I can't be a supporter of goodness, if I can't be a supporter of teaching, if I can't be in the support of الْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ النَّهْيُ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ commanding good and forbidding evil, if I can't be the supporter of the deen in general, then let me not be one who is criticizing those who are doing that. Let me not be those who are criticizing. Let me not criticize those who are doing good in whatever capacity.

That becomes a صَدَقَة, not that I give to them. The Prophet ﷺ says, it is a صَدَقَة that you give to yourself. It is a صَدَقَة that you give to yourself.

Optimism in Every Generation

A person be optimistic in every generation. You know, sometimes this is a common trait where people look at the generation that came after. So, the baby boomers look at the millennials and they say the millennials are useless. The millennials look at generation Z and they say generation Z is useless. And generation Z looks at whoever is younger than them and they say that generation is useless and all of that. The Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ will always have goodness in it.

It always have goodness in it. And the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sahih Muslim)

That whoever says that the people have been ruined, they're the ones who are most ruined. Or they are the ones who ruined them. The person who's saying you're a loser, you're nothing, you're never gonna be anything. You're... The entire community, the entire ummah, they're all ruined. Sometimes you hear people talk like that. The entire ummah is useless. The Prophet ﷺ says, whoever says the people are destroyed, the people are ruined, they're the ones who are destroying them. Or they are the ones who are the most destroyed amongst them.

And so a person being optimistic with regards to the community, a person being optimistic with regards to themselves, a person being optimistic in the way that they communicate with other people, a person being optimistic with regards to the future of this deen. And Allah ﷻ knows best.

First Khutbah Conclusion

أَقُولُ مَا سَمِعْتُمْ مُسْتَغْفِرًا اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Second Khutbah

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا. أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

For those of you who are just joining, we were just talking about the Prophet ﷺ and his optimism. And his optimism perforated every aspect of his life ﷺ. From the way that he interacted with people, from the way that he perceived events that were difficult, but all of it came from an extension of good expectation from Allah ﷻ. A person being optimistic in their life is an extension of their optimism or their good expectation from Allah ﷻ which is a great great act of worship. And so we ask Allah ﷻ to make us of those who expect goodness from His always and to make us of those who love to meet Him because the Prophet ﷺ says that whoever loves to meet Allah ﷻ, Allah ﷻ loves to meet them. To make the best of our days our last days and the best of our moments the day that we meet Allah ﷻ. We ask Allah ﷻ for His Jannah and to protect us from the hellfire and what will bring us close to it of actions and speech.

اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْ مَوْتَانَا وَمَوْتَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَاشْفِ مَرْضَانَا وَمَرْضَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَقَوْمِهِ لِلَّهِ وَصَلَّمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ