We Are Being Watched

Khutbah Opening

All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and seek His assistance. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. Yet whomever He allows to go astray, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.

O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared. And do not die except in the state of Islam.

O you who believe, fear Allah and speak the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive your sins. And whomsoever obeys Allah and His messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement.

We Are Being Watched

Brothers and sisters in Islam, today we're going to talk about being conscious of the fact that we're being watched. That our actions, that our deeds, that what we say — they're being recorded and they're being monitored and they're being watched. And this is the essence of having taqwa, which means being God conscious. To always be aware of the fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching over you — what you do and what you say.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Qur'an describes the Day of Judgment with many different names and many different descriptions. But amongst those names and descriptions, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

"And the day upon which the witnesses will arise."

So the scholars explained that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave it this name — the day when the witnesses will arise — because there will be so many witnesses either for you or against you on the Day of Resurrection. Either witnessing that you did a good deed, or testifying against you that you committed a sin.

The First Witness: Allah

First and foremost of all the witnesses is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — Allah azza wa jal, who knows what you conceal and He knows what you reveal. And what leaves may fall and what the animals feel. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the most important and first and foremost of all the witnesses.

And when you contemplate the lives of the righteous before us, you see that they were always aware of the fact that their actions are being watched by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We have the famous example of the companion Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). He used to bathe in his clothing at home. When he would bathe, he would be wearing some of his lower garments, because he was too ashamed to be unclothed in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But how many people remember Allah azza wa jal in a position like that, in a place like that, when they're just bathing in their own home? How many people remember that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching them?

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) and many others — the same narration from amongst the companions of the Prophet ﷺ — when they would remove their clothing in their own home, they would lower or bend their back to conceal themselves in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, because they were ashamed of being unclothed in front of Allah azza wa jal.

This is the level of taqwa we're talking about, where people are always remembering that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching over them, and observing what they say and what they do.

The Story of Al-Junayd and His Students

From the righteous and from the scholars before — Al-Junayd (may Allah have mercy on him) one time brought four of his students and gave each one of them a chicken. He said, "I will give a prize to whichever of you will go where no one can see you, slaughter the animal, and come back to me quickly." And so all four of them took the chicken and went. Three of them came rushing back, claiming they were the first to slaughter it where nobody could see them. But the fourth student didn't show up.

So the teacher said, "Let's wait until the fourth one shows up." And finally when he came, he came with the animal still alive. And the teacher — wanting to teach a lesson to the other students — asked him, "Why didn't you slaughter the animal?" He said, "You told me to go where no one could see me. And everywhere I went, Allah azza wa jal could see me." And the teacher embraced him and told the others, "This is the taqwa of Allah azza wa jal. This is being God conscious. This is being aware all the time that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching over what you say and what you do."

And Allah azza wa jal mentions this multiple times in the Qur'an:

"Does he not know that Allah is watching?"

"And Allah knows full well what you do." — Multiple times mentioned in the Qur'an.

"They hide their deeds and their sins from people, but they do not hide them from Allah."

And that's why first and foremost we're to remember that Allah azza wa jal is watching. Most people, when they want to commit a sin, they make sure that no human eyes will fall upon them. But they don't care the least that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching the entire time.

The Wisdom of Ibn al-Qayyim

The great scholar of Islam, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), said that a person might be committing a sin, and then the wind will move the door, and he will think that it's a person walking in on them. And their heart will jump and they'll be so scared because they think a human being is going to catch them committing the sin. But they weren't even half as scared that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was watching them commit the sin the entire time.

So Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the fact that you don't care that Allah is watching you commit the sin can be a bigger sin than the sin itself. The sin of not caring that Allah azza wa jal is watching is more of a big deal than the sin itself — which you're trying to conceal from fellow human beings while you don't care that Allah azza wa jal is watching.

And that's why the early Muslims used to say:

"Do not look at how small the sin is, but look at the greatness of the One you're sinning against."

And that's why it behooves the believing men and women to be constantly aware of the fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching — and not to be as the early Muslims described: a friend of Allah in public and an enemy of Shaytan in public, but then an enemy of Allah in private and the best friend of the Shaytan when alone. It cannot be that we present the best of our behavior, the best of our acts of worship when we're in public, when we're in the masjid, when we're with the community — but then the worst of us comes out only when we're alone with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And that's why the righteous from before said: nothing weakens iman more so than sins committed in private. And on the flip side, nothing strengthens your iman more so than good deeds committed in private as well.

The Second Witness: The Angels

Then there are the angels of Allah azza wa jal. And the angels, they witness our good deeds as well. In the hadith, the Prophet ﷺ described that on the day of Jumu'ah, there are two angels that will make du'a for people as they're entering the mosque. But when the imam ascends the pulpit — the minbar — the angels then enter to witness the Jumu'ah and the khutbah. So they don't make du'a for people.

But the righteous behave as if they could see the unseen. If you could see and hear the angels make du'a for you because you came early, would you ever be late the next Jumu'ah? The righteous always behave as if they could see the unseen.

Other examples: when there is a gathering where people are learning the Book of Allah, the angels descend and encircle the gathering. Then they ascend up to Allah azza wa jal and bear witness that they saw that person at the gathering. So these are examples of good deeds that the angels witness.

But more specifically, there are two angels. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions this in the Qur'an:

"When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left. Not a word does he utter except that with him is an observer prepared."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions more specifically that there are two angels — one on the right and one on the left. And you do not utter a word except that it is immediately penned down. The scholars mention from the hadith their names: Raqib and Atid. They said Raqib writes down the good deeds and Atid writes down the bad deeds.

The Meaning of Sa'ah — A Few Seconds

From the mercy of Allah azza wa jal — when you do a good deed, the angel pens it down instantly. And from the mercy of Allah azza wa jal — when you commit a sin, the angel does not write down the sin instantly, but delays writing the sin down for a period. As the hadith says: for six sa'at.

The problem is that in many books and in many lectures, this is translated as "six hours." And six hours does not help you repent to Allah azza wa jal — it actually encourages people to keep sinning. Because if I commit a sin and the angel doesn't write it down for six hours, then I just have a countdown of how much to keep doing the sin. Five hours, three hours, two hours...

But the scholars say this is from the importance of understanding what a word meant at the time of the Prophet ﷺ. At the time of the Prophet ﷺ, the word sa'ah did not mean 60 minutes — one hour — as it does in contemporary Arabic. Rather, sa'ah meant a few seconds. Some of the fuqaha said a sa'ah is how long it takes the imam to ascend the minbar — the pulpit — which is only three steps. Others said the sa'ah is how long the imam sits between the two khutbahs, which is just a few seconds.

And there is evidence in multiple ahadith. In Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet ﷺ was overseeing a procedure known as li'an between Hilal ibn Umayyah and his wife. She made four testimonies, and then she was supposed to make the fifth testimony. Then the narrator says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

"She hesitated sa'ah." So what does sa'ah mean in this hadith? Did she hesitate for one full hour in court while everybody waited, or did she hesitate for a few seconds and then make the fifth testimony? Clearly, sa'ah means just a few seconds.

And so when the angel withholds writing the sin down for six sa'at, it is six of these brief moments. And that was designed so that whenever we commit a sin, we instantly rush to Allah. We are encouraged to rush to Allah — to repent instantly, to cry, to beg for forgiveness, and to repent from doing that sin instantly — before the Shaytan has time to come to you and convince you that you're too dirty, or too unworthy of returning to Allah. Before he has any time to convince you otherwise, you instantly rush to Allah.

And the encouragement is this: if we can repent sincerely to Allah before the angel writes it down, then there is nothing to discuss with Allah. You don't have to discuss that sin — because it's not written or penned in your books.

Every One of Us Is Writing a Book

For our entire lives, the angels will write down everything that we say and everything that we do. They keep recording — and this is our book. Every one of us is writing a book, and you dictate to the angels what you want them to put in that book. Not a word that you utter, as we said in the verse, except that it is immediately penned down.

It is said that the average person will curse two million times in their lifetime — two million times. Even if we give Muslims a discount, say a million times — how many pages will it take to fill one million words? It's 2,222 pages — something like seven volumes thick. Just the bad words. Not counting the lies, not counting the backbiting, not counting the spread of rumors, or anything of that sort. Just the bad words that will be penned down by the angels.

So we keep writing our book, and the angels keep writing everything that we say and do, and then we receive this book on a most difficult day — the Day of Resurrection. Where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bring back to life every human being that ever lived. And they will all stand on one plain, level earth that has no trees, no mountains, and no landmarks. The Prophet ﷺ described it to be plain, white, and level. And everyone ever created by Allah will stand like that.

And on top of that, Allah azza wa jal will cause the sun to be only one mile away from people's heads — it is now millions of miles away, but it will be only one mile away. And people will stand in that situation — no talking, no joking, no smiling — for 50,000 years. Everyone in this room will stand on that day for 50,000 years, just waiting for the judgment to begin.

And those who do good deeds — and we ask Allah azza wa jal to make us and our families from that group — will not feel 50,000 years pass by. And others, based on their deeds, will feel more or less. But there will be people who will actually feel every second of 50,000 years. And they will be so tired of waiting for the judgment to begin that they will just want the judgment to start — whether they go to the Hellfire or Paradise, they don't care. That's how tired they are of waiting. And if you were to contemplate — if someone knew they would end up in the Hellfire for all eternity, they should want to wait for 50,000 years or another 100,000 years. But they are so exhausted of waiting that they just want the judgment to begin, and they don't even care where they're going at that moment.

And so when the judgment finally begins, the first thing they will see will be millions and millions of books filling the horizons. These books will come and start to fall into people's hands. Those who do good deeds — and we ask Allah azza wa jal that we're from that group — their books will fall into their right hands. And they will flip through it and find good deeds they did a long time ago, good deeds they had forgotten. And they will be so pleased with their results that they will scream out:

"Here, read my book!" — They will scream out to others, "Come and read my book!" They want people to see their good results, just like a student who gets good results and wants everyone to see.

And then there will be others — and we ask Allah azza wa jal that none of us and our families are from this group — who committed so many bad deeds that their books will fall into their left hands. And they will look through it, and there will not be a bad deed they've done except that it was penned and written down in that book. And there will be others who know their book will fall into their left hand, and so they will attempt to hide their left hand — but they have no place to put it. So they attempt to hide their left hand behind their back. And the book will still fall there, as Allah azza wa jal says:

"As for those who receive their books behind their backs..."

So that means then: Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is watching what we say and do. The angels pen down and write everything that we say and do — of good and of bad deeds.

The Third Witness: The Earth and Inanimate Objects

And then not only that, but even the inanimate objects that are around us — they also witness what we say and what we do. So if someone doesn't care that Allah azza wa jal is watching, and doesn't care that the angels are recording, then they would never consider hiding the sin from the walls and the inanimate objects they're using to conceal that sin.

One day the Prophet ﷺ was sitting with the companions, then he recited the verse:

"On that day the earth will convey its news."

So then he asked the companions:

"Do you know what is this news that the earth is going to convey?" And they said, اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ — "Allah and His Messenger know best." So the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3353 — graded Sahih)

"The news the earth is going to convey is that it will testify against every servant — male or female — for what they used to do while they were on earth."

So that means even the inanimate objects will witness what we do — of good and of bad deeds. Of good deeds: that's why the Prophet ﷺ taught the companions, when they make the adhan, to raise their voice with it so the inanimate objects — the trees and the rocks — can also bear witness on the Day of Judgment that they did it at that place and at that time.

So that means we are being watched from all different angles and in so many different ways. And it behooves the believing men and women to be aware of their actions and aware of their sayings.

We ask Allah azza wa jal to make us of those who hear the truth as a clear truth and follow the best of it.

Ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for His forgiveness. Surely those who ask for His forgiveness shall prosper.

Second Part of the Khutbah

First, we have guests with us from a nearby church, and we'd like to welcome them to our masjid — to Clear Lake Islamic Center. Welcome, and kindly please show them Muslim hospitality and welcome them to our masjid.

The Fourth Witness: Your Own Body

There will be people on the Day of Judgment who will argue against what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala witnessed Himself, and argue against what the angels recorded, and argue against the testimony of the inanimate objects — and they will demand a witness from their own side. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will cause their mouths to be sealed, and then their arms, their limbs, their legs, their skin will speak up and testify against them.

And Allah azza wa jal mentions in the Qur'an:

"And they will say to their skin, 'Why did you testify against us?' They will respond, 'Allah caused us to speak — He who causes everything to speak.'"

So they didn't care that Allah azza wa jal was watching, and they tried to conceal the sin using the very walls that will testify against them. They locked doors and turned off lights and closed windows and tried to hide the sin from human eyes. But they never considered hiding the sin from their own body with which they were committing the sin. And the testimony comes against them from where they least expected.

The Wisdom of Ibrahim ibn Adham

There was a righteous man from the early Muslims — his name was Ibrahim ibn Adham. He was also known for his wisdom and his advice. It is said that a man came to him — a man who used to sin a lot against Allah azza wa jal — and said, "I sin a lot, so give me advice so I can stop sinning."

So Ibrahim ibn Adham said: "If you want to sin against Allah, then go ahead — but just do not use any of the provision of Allah. Don't use His wealth, don't use the food that He provides for you, or anything." The man said, "How can I do that when everything in the world comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?" So he told him, "Does it make sense that you take from His provision and you sin against Him?"

The man said, "Give me the second piece of advice." He said, "If you insist upon sinning against Allah while using His provision, then at least do not sin on His land." He said, "Then how can I do that when all the land belongs to Allah azza wa jal?" He said, "Does it make sense to sin against Allah while using and eating from His provision and doing it on His land?"

He said, "Give me the third piece of advice." He said, "The third piece of advice is: if you insist on doing that, then at least go where He can't see you and sin against Him." He said, "That is greater than the first two." He said, "Then does it make sense that you sin on Allah's land while you're using His provision, while He's looking at you?"

He said, "Give me the fourth piece of advice." He said, "When the angel of death comes to take your soul, tell him to wait a little bit while you repent and pray two raka'at." He said, "He won't give me the opportunity." He said, "Then the fifth piece of advice: when the angels come to throw you into the Hellfire, refuse to go with them."

And so the man said, "Qat, qat" — meaning "Enough, enough." And it was said that from that day on, he was always obedient to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because he became aware of the fact that Allah azza wa jal is watching — which is what we're trying to achieve — which is taqwa, the essence of taqwa: being God conscious.

And Allah azza wa jal tells us in the Qur'an:

"And the final end is for those who have taqwa."

"The victory is for taqwa — for those who are God conscious."

Hiding Good Deeds as We Hide Bad Deeds

With that, the last piece of advice: just as we want to hide our sins and we don't want to commit sins when we're alone with Allah azza wa jal, the early Muslims used to also hide and conceal their good deeds the same way they used to conceal their wicked deeds. The same way we hide our bad deeds now, they used to hide their good deeds — because a good deed is a secret between you and Allah.

Obviously, except those deeds that have to be done in public. You cannot hide coming to Jumu'ah. But you can hide all the other good deeds you did at home. If you woke up and prayed some raka'at in the depth of the night, nobody knows that except you and Allah azza wa jal. It's a secret between you and Allah. So don't come in the morning and let everyone know.

We've become used to always accentuating whatever good characteristics we have. When we write a résumé, we praise ourselves. When we meet people, we tell them special things about us. And that trickles down to our acts of worship. Many times, people do a good deed — a secret between them and Allah azza wa jal — and then they come in the morning and tell everybody what they did. Hide your good deeds the same way you hide your bad deeds.

One of the early Muslims used to fast every other day for 40 years — and his own wife didn't know that. He would go to the market; she would make him food in the morning. When he was fasting, he would give it to the poor, then pray Maghrib and come back home to eat. On the days he wasn't fasting, he would eat the morning food and then come back after Maghrib and eat with the family. For 40 years, he hid this good deed from his own wife.

It's the idea of not wanting to boast and show off everything we do in private with Allah azza wa jal and for the sake of Allah. Because then it may not be purely for the sake of Allah, but partly for the sake of showing off. And that's why the Prophet ﷺ warned that hidden shirk — doing something for the sake of showing off — is more inconspicuous, more undetectable than the footsteps of a black ant on a black stone on a black night. But we worship the One who can see the footsteps of a black ant on a black stone on a black night.

We ask Allah azza wa jal to make us of those who hear the truth as clear truth and follow the best of it. And we ask Him to make us recognize falsehood as clear falsehood and abstain from it.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant victory to Islam and to the Muslims, and to grant freedom to all the Muslims who are being held and dealt with unjustly around the world, and to assist and grant victory to the Muslims in Kashmir and to the Muslims in Palestine and in Bangladesh and in Burma and in all parts of the world.