The True Meaning of Islam - Ustadh Anas Tayib

Khutbah Opening

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and ask His help and ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, no one can misguide him. And whomsoever He misguides, no one can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The Greatest Blessing: Deen al-Islam

All praise is due to Allah for His many blessings, and the greatest blessing of them all — the perfected blessing of Allah — is Deen al-Islam. Allah revealed in Surah al-Ma'idah, in what is said by some of the scholars to be the final verse of the Qur'an:

Allah says: "Today I have completed this religion for you, and I have perfected My blessing upon you, and I am pleased with Islam as your religion."

This religion has been completed by Allah — it requires no addition. It has been perfected by Allah — it has no deficiency. And Allah is pleased with it as our religion, and nothing else pleases Him except this religion.

The only accepted religion with Allah is Islam. And Allah also said:

"Whoever seeks out a religion apart from Islam, it will not be accepted from him."

The Ancient Religion: The Way of Ibrahim

This religion of ours is an old religion — the religion of Allah since the beginning, the religion of Adam (alayhi salam) and all the prophets who came after, and the religion of Ibrahim (alayhi salam). An example in submission and taslim to Allah, which is the true meaning of Islam.

Ibrahim (alayhi salam) was told by Allah: "Submit." He said: "I submit to Allah, the Lord of the worlds." He submitted to His command, he submitted to His word — that it is the truth, that His command is perfect and that His religion is complete.

And Ibrahim (alayhi salam), before his death, advised his children:

He advised his children — and Ya'qub did the same — saying: "O my children, indeed Allah has chosen this religion for you." This religion is a chosen religion by Allah. He picked it for us and He picked us for this religion.

Allah Chose Us and Named Us Muslims

Allah says at the end of Surah al-Hajj:

"Strive in the path of Allah in the correct manner, in the true way. He has chosen you. And He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty. The way of your father Ibrahim — He named you Muslims before, and in this [Qur'an], so that the Messenger may be a witness over you, and you may be witnesses over the people."

This name "Muslim" — where does it come from? Allah says, Allah gave you this name: هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ — in the previous books, Allah referred to us as the Muslims, those who truly submit to Him. وَفِي هَذَا — and in the Qur'an, the newest revelation, the final revelation. This is the name we were given by Allah. We call ourselves by what Allah called us. We are Muslims who submit to Him.

Allah also did not place this religion as a difficulty for us. It is an ease in the dunya and an ease in the akhirah. When the salah has been commanded by Allah — one of the greatest pillars, or the greatest pillar after the shahada — Allah gives us ease for the one who is traveling to shorten it, and for the one who is sick or facing any difficulty to combine and to make it easy.

The Virtue and Responsibility of Being Witnesses

This religion, yes, it is chosen by Allah. Yes, it has a virtue. But it also carries a responsibility. One of the virtues and responsibilities at the same time is that Allah will put us as witnesses on the Day of Judgment before every single nation.

It is mentioned that Nuh (alayhi salam) will come on the Day of Judgment and he will be asked: "Did you deliver to your people? Did you convey the message?" He would say: "Yes, O Allah, I conveyed the message." And then the people of Nuh will be asked: "Is it true what he said? Did he convey to you the message?" They would say: "Nobody came to us. No warner came to us." So he is asked: "Do you have a witness?" And he says: "Yes, the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ." And we testify on the Day of Judgment that every messenger conveyed the message and the nations received their message. And the Messenger ﷺ will be a witness over us and testify that he delivered the message to us.

Allah says in Surah al-Baqarah: "And thus We have made you a median nation, so that you may be witnesses over the people, and the Messenger may be a witness over you." وَسَطًا here means the greatest and the most virtuous of nations.

The Weeping of the Prophet ﷺ Upon Hearing These Verses

These verses and this responsibility made the Messenger ﷺ weep. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was approached by the Messenger ﷺ who said to him: "Recite the Qur'an to me." Ibn Mas'ud said: "O Messenger of Allah, I recite to you when it was revealed to you?" He said: "Recite it, because I love to listen to it." So he recited and he recited and he recited, until he reached Surah an-Nisa and until he reached the verse:

And the Prophet ﷺ started to weep and to cry. The meaning of the verse is: "So how will it be when We bring a witness from every nation, and We bring you, O Muhammad, as a witness over them" — meaning the ummah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Yet this ummah has been given the virtue of being from the people of the Messenger ﷺ. The greatest title we have been given — being the greatest nation — comes by virtue of being the people of Muhammad ﷺ, who is the most honorable in the eyes of Allah, the most virtuous. And we only receive this virtue by being from his ummah.

We ask Allah to allow us to be grateful for this blessing.

أقول ما تسمعون وأستغفر الله لي ولكم فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم

Second Khutbah

الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين

The Messenger ﷺ gave commands, gave prohibitions, showed us guidance, and called us to Allah. And anybody who seeks honor from other than Islam, or honor from other than the way of the Messenger ﷺ, will be disgraced.

The Conditions of Being the Best of Nations

Allah told us we were made the best of nations — by following the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. And the more that you stray away from this path, this virtue and honor goes away. This honor you have been given is conditional — that you follow the Messenger ﷺ. And there are also other conditions. Allah says:

"You are the best of nations brought forth for the people. You enjoin what is good, you forbid what is evil, and you believe in Allah."

These three matters distinguish the Muslim and give them the virtue of being the best of nations:

1. You believe in Allah
2. You enjoin and command the good — تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ
3. You forbid evil — وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ

If a person does not fulfill these conditions, then they lose out on this virtue and they lose out on this position. This responsibility is great, and as we know, the greater the virtue, the greater is the responsibility required from you. It is not something that you just boast about — telling people: "I am the best of people and I am from the nation of the Messenger ﷺ" — when there is nothing to see of that from your actions.

Iman Must Settle in the Heart

This claim of Iman — Allah rebukes it and He rejects those who claim it with their tongues when Iman hasn't settled in their hearts. Allah says:

The Arabs said to the Messenger ﷺ: "We believe." Allah says: "Say: You have not believed. Rather say: 'We have accepted Islam,' for Iman has not yet entered your hearts."

Claiming that you have Iman and that you are from the people of Iman is not just a claim that can be accepted by the tongue. It needs to be followed through with actions. It needs to be seen from this person that they are someone who follows the Messenger ﷺ.

The Distinctions Allah Gives to the Believers

We are distinguished by our actions. We are distinguished in our treatment by Allah. The Muslim is given a good life. Allah says:

"Whoever does righteous deeds — male or female — while being a believer, We will surely cause them to live a good life." A good life is a life of ease, a life of happiness, being content. This is what the Muslim is given before the Akhirah.

Distinguished at the Time of Death

Even the Muslim is distinguished at the time of death. Allah says:

"Indeed, those who said 'Our Lord is Allah' and then remained steadfast — the angels will descend upon them, saying: 'Do not fear, and do not grieve, but receive glad tidings of the Paradise which you were promised.'"

At the time of death — at this time of great difficulty — the angels descend upon the believers. Allah says: ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا — meaning their statement of "Our Lord is Allah" and their claim of belief was confirmed by their actions. They were upright.

Distinguished in the Grave and on the Day of Judgment

The believer is also distinguished in their grave. When the angels come to ask the questions, the believer will say: "My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, the man that was sent to me was Muhammad ﷺ." And the disbeliever will be unable to answer. Allah will give the believer enjoyment and reward in his grave, and for the disbeliever is punishment.

And on the Day of Judgment, believers are distinguished from the rest of creation. Even within the ummah of the Prophet ﷺ, his ummah is further distinguished. One of the things by which the Prophet ﷺ recognizes us is the wudu — when we perform wudu, on the Day of Judgment it will be a light. The Prophet ﷺ said: "I would recognize you from the parts of the body you used to wash in wudu." Meaning these people that the Prophet ﷺ would recognize are people who upheld the salah and who would worship Allah.

And when he would go to someone from his ummah on the Day of Judgment, trying to help them and aid them, Allah will stop him from certain people, and he would say: "O my Lord, this is from my ummah, he is from my ummah." Allah will say: "You do not know what they did after you."

The Prophet ﷺ prayed for us, he cried for us — yet on the Day of Judgment, Allah will distinguish those who are truthful from those who lie.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allah to make us upright believers who are believers with our tongues, our hearts, and our actions. We ask Allah to allow us to reunite with the Messenger ﷺ in a way which pleases him and pleases us and pleases our Lord. We ask Allah to gather us with the righteous of the past and the current righteous people and the offsprings and the generations to come.