Two Essential Forms of Worship For Our Time

Two Essential Forms of Worship For Our Time

My dear brothers and sisters, when I used to read some of the narrations from the successors or the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saying that they are living in a time where hardly they can recognize the way Islam was practiced during the Prophet's صلى الله عليه وسلم time, I asked myself: how come, just such a short period of time? But any change that happens in society makes people unable sometimes to recognize how things used to be a decade ago, or 20 or 30 years ago.

And I'm sure so many people who are my age or older will agree that there is so much change that has happened in society, so much change in the community, in the world — especially among the Muslims — and in many different areas and fronts. For example, in the way their commitment to acts of worship, the way religiosity means something to them has shifted and differs from what we used to grow up learning and recognizing.

You know, even countries — you go and you don't recognize them anymore — when it comes to morality and ethics and so many things. The change is rapid, it's quick, fast, deep, and that sometimes can be good and many times can also be bad and scary. In a time where there is so much chaos, so much instability, falsehood and truth cannot sometimes be distinguished from one another, and it has become a challenge for people to hold on to their religion.

And because of that specific reason, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told us that those who hold on to the Sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, who hold on to the religion in the end of days, are like the one who is holding on to charcoals. It's hard to hold the charcoals — it's burning your hand.

And also the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that the religion will come to a point where it will be something strange.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 270)

Which is explained by some of the Sahaba by saying that when people practice the Sunnah, people ask: "What is this? What kind of religion is this?" And when people practice the bid'ah — the invented matters of religion, the things that have no basis in religion — people will see it as: "This is the religion."

To that extent the change has happened. And in the midst of all this, I have two messages for my brothers and sisters today. And I hope that you walk out of this khutbah remembering them — that they are clear to you, something that you can commit yourself to.

The First Message: Worship in the Midst of People's Negligence

Number one: in the midst of this chaos, this busy life, this materialistic life, we have to commit ourselves to the worship of Allah. Especially in the area and the time when we see people neglecting that area. And I say this again — worship in the midst of people's negligence. You look at the area where people are so busy, so distracted, neglecting — that is the area that we as Muslims today should try our best to hold on to.

Al-Dhahabi, رحمه الله, when he wrote the biography of Mujahid ibn Jabr, he said something very interesting:

Mujahid — every time he saw people neglect something in the worship of Allah, some kind of practice or part of the religion, he would make sure, he would make a point, that he would compel himself to do that act of worship. Make sure that he practiced it.

So when you see people come to the masjid and nobody is praying sunnah, make sure you pray the sunnah. When you see people around you not in the habit of saying the truth, you make a point that you will hold on to saying the truth. When you see people around you neglecting the duty of nasiha — giving advice to one another — that's something you need to hold on to. To say the truth and to speak the truth. When you see people around you can no longer be trusted, when many people betray and many people cheat, you hold your ground. When you see people around you don't pray in the night, you make sure that you do. When a young man sees many people so into just imitating the worst of the worst in the world, doing things that will not benefit them in their dunya or their deen, he makes the point that he will hold on to what matters, that he has high ambitions and holds on to what is of value.

When you see people around you don't care about coming to the masjid, you make the point to come more often. When you see people don't anymore care about coming early to the masjid, coming closer to the imam — all these parts of the religion — and you see people neglecting it, not even caring about it, not even talking about it. When you see people don't say salam to one another, it has become "peace," it has become all these things that people play around with — you make a point that you say السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ when you meet someone and when you leave. When you see people that don't fast anymore on Monday and Thursday, you make the point to do so.

And that's how it works — every time you see something that is neglected, something that people are so distracted from, you make the point to do it. Look around you. Start with your home, start with your family members, start with your community, and go farther and farther.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that worshipping during times of chaos — which is al-harj as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم described it, and part of that chaos is killing one another, fighting civil wars, etc. — but also any type of chaos. When people are so distracted, there are so many things distracting us these days. Just following the news drives you crazy. Everything that is new, every new distraction — following the technology drives you crazy, following the fashion distracts you, following the politics of the world and what's happening. Just seeing all those people online and all these podcasts and all those people on social media and all these messages and WhatsApp — it makes you so distracted, you have no time for anything else in your life. Just to follow and follow and get sucked into this world and be completely consumed by it.

So he said: worshipping during times of chaos is like migration to me. It is like light in the darkness. Safety in a time of fear. When the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came and people wanted to be guided, they would go to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And in a time of chaos and confusion, if you want to make sure to maintain your deen, make sure that you connect yourself strongly with Allah. Chaos is often a time when people forget the remembrance of Allah. That is why there are numerous hadith highlighting the virtue of performing acts of worship in a time when people are occupied.

Let me give you examples. Take Salat al-Fajr. Either people are getting ready to go to work or people are still asleep. Not many people pray Fajr on time. Isha prayer — especially when it comes late — people are either busy entertaining themselves, playing games, socializing, or going out to eat. It gets neglected. That is why the hadith speak about the virtue of praying Isha in jama'at and praying Fajr in jama'at in the masjid.

Look at the emphasis on Asr. Because a lot of people get distracted. Asr is actually one of the most neglected salah, because people are either just finishing work or at the end of the workday, occupied with what they have at hand, and most of the time Asr is prayed late. There is so much emphasis on praying Asr on time.

Look at praying Salat al-Duha. How much reward is there in praying Salat al-Duha? Why? Because at 9:30 or 10 o'clock, everybody is at work, everybody is busy — but those who take some time to pray two rak'at of Duha, the reward is so significant.

Look at the remembrance of Allah — even though there is a debate over the authenticity of the hadith — which is the dhikr that you say when you enter the market, the souk:

A million hasanat will be given to you. A million. Some scholars even said this hadith is weak because that is a very high reward — we don't see this kind of high number for just a dhikr. But other scholars said no, the reason the reward is so high is because when people enter the mall, when they go to the market, they are so occupied by what they will see, occupied with all the distractions — they don't think of dhikr. That is why the reward is high.

Look at the night prayer, qiyam al-layl. What is the reward of it?

The people of taqwa are in gardens where rivers are flowing. Why? Because they used to sleep little in the night — they woke up in the middle of the night. That is why the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم even in his time said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2485)

Pray while people are sleeping. Spread salam. Feed people. Connect to your family and spread salam. What will happen? You will enter Jannah in peace.

(Reported from the narrations of the Salaf)

There is an interesting narration from the Salaf. Mu'arriq al-'Ijli, رحمه الله, said:

Those who hold on to acts of worship when people don't dare to do them — or are too busy, or see it as too difficult, too hard to commit to — the one who commits to it is like the one who, when the army is defeated, steps up to protect the army. He comes forward when everybody is running away. A brave man is the one who steps up to fulfill that duty when people are neglecting that act of worship.

'Awn ibn 'Abdillah, one of the great scholars of the Tabi'een, said:

'Awn ibn 'Abdillah said: Remembering Allah in the midst of people's negligence is like a defending force protecting a retreating army. Without that individual, the group would be defeated. Similarly, without those who remember Allah in a time of negligence, people will perish. Our community will perish. Our ummah will perish.

If you ask why the ummah is weak — it is because we are not fulfilling these obligations. There are just a few who can protect; we don't expect the whole community to be able to do that, but those few are the ones who are actually carrying the burden and carrying the rest of us on their shoulders. These giants — make sure that you are one of them.

And please, stop texting and stop looking at your phone while I am giving the khutbah — unless you are a police officer on duty, someone waiting for his wife to deliver, or an on-call doctor. That is fine. But other than that, you are ruining your reward for Jumu'ah.

So the point here is so important for us to understand as a community and collectively: whenever you see there is something neglected, something people are not occupied with — make sure that if it is an act of worship, something good, you step up for it. You see a quality starting to perish, it's not there anymore — generosity. It's hard. You know, I see people going out to eat — we used to joke that Arab guys, or in the old days, everyone would fight over who was going to pay the bill. These days and in this generation, they go to the restaurant and say: "Who's gonna pay? Let's just share." There's an app to split the bill. I'm fine with that, but we need a little bit of generosity too. When you see people don't visit one another for the sake of Allah, step up. And so it is in every area of our religion.

The Second Message: The Virtue of Secret Acts of Worship

The second thing I want to mention — an act of worship, something to reflect upon as you leave. As we strive to be among those who remember Allah when the world around us is distracted, I want to remind ourselves also of the virtue of secret acts of worship that only Allah is aware of. Performing acts of devotion in private, away from the eyes of the people. Only Allah's eyes see you. This shows a great deal of sincerity. A deep connection between you and the worship and the One that you worship, which is Allah.

Make sure that this is something you increase. Increase the number of acts of worship that only you and Allah are aware of. Make sure you increase the number of ibadat done in private. And I want to give you the glad tidings that Allah said:

"The Day when secrets will be tested." When the hidden matters will be revealed and made known. That is why Ibn 'Umar said: whoever has so many of these good deeds will be so proud on the Day of Judgment when they will be made known.

My brothers and sisters, the Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم said — it was reported — that whoever among you is able to have a hidden deed of righteousness, let him or her do it. Do it, and do as much as you can from it. There is so much emphasis on the issue of making ibadat that are done only in private.

(Al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; reported in various hadith collections)

The charity that is given in private extinguishes the wrath of your Lord. The seven people under the Shade of Allah — one of them hides his deeds, hides his charity.

Ibn al-Qayyim said a beautiful saying — and I will conclude with it. Hidden sins are the cause of regression, of stepping back, of declining. While hidden acts of worship are the foundation of steadfastness.

As I said in the beginning, in a time of chaos, a time of fitna, a time of change — if you want to hold on to your religion, increase the amount of private acts of worship between you and Allah. In a time of social media, where everything is posted and everything becomes public and you do it for whatever reason — make sure that you have plenty of acts of worship between you and Allah.

There was a man who had been fasting for years and his wife did not know that he used to fast. He was caught one day — she figured it out. She used to make lunch for him and say: "Sweetheart, take your lunch with you" — like what we do today. He would take it to the market, donate it to the people, give it away, and she would think he had eaten his lunch. He would come back and say: "I'm still full." Until Maghrib time, then he would eat. Even from his own wife — he kept it hidden.

And how many times — even in the hadith about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — Aisha said: "I woke up in the middle of the night and didn't see him next to me. I looked and found him making sujood and making du'a." She wasn't even aware of it.

Let's increase that. You know what — iman is like a tree. What makes the tree stable? The hidden part of it, which is the root. The deeper the root goes inside the ground, the more stable that tree will be. This is your iman — it is that tree. The more you have acts of worship that are between you and Allah, these roots going deep into the ground, only between you and Allah — the more Allah will reward you for it.

These two things we need to focus on more and more — in a time of chaos, in a time of fitna, in a time of change — so we can stay on this path until we meet Allah while He is pleased with us.