Short Khatirah by Young Khatibs | Ustadh Mohamad Baajour | EPIC Masjid

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. اللهم حرم هذه الوجوه الطيبة عن النار يا رب العالمين. Once a year in July, I do a program called Amma Baad, where we train khateebs. And alhamdulillah, we did this year, and we had a beautiful, mashallah, presentation by the khateebs. So now, since our Shuyukh are away, every one of those winners, they will come every night and give a talk. So out of, please, encouragement to them, please, just sit down and listen for six minutes. So we can show them our support that, you know what, you have worked hard to prepare. We are going to sit down and listen to you. Brother Ali-Yan, he's going to be tonight, inshallah. Brother Yazid is going to be tomorrow, inshallah. So just give us a few minutes to listen. And Jazakumullah khair for your support.

First Khatirah - The Danger of Failing to Verify News

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. There's an incident that took place at the time of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasalam, involving a woman. This woman, she was part of a caravan that was making their way back to Medina. However, she was accidentally left behind. She thought to herself, okay, I'll just stay at the camp. And when they realize that I'm missing, they'll come back for me.

So some time passed. She felt tired and she fell asleep. However, the caravan never came back. Then a man who was further behind the caravan found his way to the camp and found the woman sleeping there. He woke her up and the two made their way back to the main body of the caravan.

After getting there, a rumor started to spread. This rumor lasted for more than a month and was so harmful, so severe that the woman cried, cried and cried so much that she thought her liver would burst. This rumor was nothing more than a false and baseless accusation of zina. The man who was accused, his name is Safwan ibn Mu'attal al-Sulimi radiyallahu anhu, a companion of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam, and a man who died later in the path of Allah. As for the woman, she was the most beloved of all people to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam. Ummul mu'mineen Aisha radiyallahu anha.

Now let me ask you a question. Would any of you here today, would you like your daughter, your sister, your mother, your wife, or any of your female family members to go through what Aisha went through? Would you? No, wallahi you would not. But this, this is what happens. This is the outcome of failing to verify news when it comes to you.

Which is why Allah azawajal commands us in surah al-Hujurat when he says:

Oh those of you who believe. If a fasiq, an evil doer comes to you with news, then do what? Verify it. So that you don't harm others unknowingly. And become from those who regret what they did afterwards.

Brothers and sisters, Allah is telling us within this ayah. Not me, not your parents, not your shuyukh. Allah is the one who is telling you directly within this ayah, that failing to verify news can cause harm to other people.

Common Problems in Our Community

Brothers and sisters, we find within our own community things that are common. Things that stem from failing to verify news. Things such as spreading false ahadith attributed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. We're not talking about da'if, weak ahadith here. We're talking about maghdu'at, fabricated ahadith here.

Brothers and sisters, wallahi this is dangerous. You may find a post, an image online telling you to recite these words or this word 222 times. And you forward it to someone else, thinking that this is the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And thinking that you're going to get good deeds for this. But in reality, you're supporting those whom the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said about:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 3, Hadith 106)

And on top of that, we find that some of our brothers and sisters are quick to judge our brothers and sisters who are in businesses. Saying things like, he sells haram. Don't go to her, she sells haram. But did you go and check? Did you go and ask them yourself? Or are you using the same mouth, the same tongue that recites the Qur'an and does the dhikr of Allah to spread misinformation regarding your Muslim brother and sister?

Brothers and sisters, it takes one minute to search the authenticity of a hadith. Brothers and sisters, it takes one minute to go online and call a Muslim business. But it takes a few seconds to spread misinformation and hurt other Muslims.

So let us strive inshallah to be mindful of our words and our actions. And let us try our best inshallah moving forward to verify news when it comes to us. May Allah grant us the ability to act upon what has been said and what has been heard.

This is what Allah has made easy for me to mention. Anything I said incorrect is from me and shaitan. And Allah and the Prophet are free from it. As-salatu wa as-salamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in.

Second Khatirah - When Your Body Will Testify Against You

My dear respected brothers and sisters, tonight I want to remind myself and you about the very moment every single human being will face. A moment that is so intense, so terrifying, and yet so undeniable that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he describes it in a way that shakes the heart.

It is the day where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will silence the tongue. The very thing that we use to defend ourselves and our limbs will begin to speak. Not a friend, not a parent, not a teacher, not even the angels. Your own hands, your own feet, your own eyes, your own ears, your body will begin to speak. Becoming your witnesses and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

On that day we will seal their mouths shut, their hands will begin to speak to us, and their feet will testify for what they used to do.

يا إخوان, think about this carefully. Allah عز و جل will seal our mouths shut. The very thing we use that he gave us will speak on our behalf.

What Will Your Body Say About You?

So I ask you يا إخوان, don't think about your entire lifetime, because that is very big. Think about last week, about yesterday, or even before you walked into this masjid.

If your hands were to speak, would they say good things or would they say bad things? Would they say that you helped someone? Would they say that you gave charity? Or would they say that you used your hands for something haram?

If your feet were to speak, would they say that you walked to the masjid, you walked to visit the sick person? Or would they say, ya Allah, we walked toward this person's house, we walk towards the club, we walk toward the haram.

If your ears were to speak, would they say, ya Allah, we listened to Qur'an, we listened to good speech, we listened to beneficial things? Or would they say, ya Allah, we listened to the haram music, we listened to the backbiting of others, we listened to the gossiping of others?

If your eyes were to speak, would they say, Ya Allah, I looked at the Qur'an. Or would they say that they looked at something haram that they should not have looked of.

And the reality is, the body never lies. And subhanAllah, a person can argue, a person can excuse themselves, a person can justify their sins in a thousand creative ways. But your hands cannot lie, your feet, they cannot lie, and your skin definitely cannot lie.

And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He tells us:

Allah kept account of it while they forgot. And we forget, we move on. We don't even remember the things that we said that hurt someone. Because I can say something and I don't know if I hurt this person. But the body remembers everything.

And on the day of judgment, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bring a servant. And this servant will begin to mention all the good things that they have done. Ya Allah, I fasted. Ya Allah, I prayed. Ya Allah, I gave sadaqa. I went to umrah, I went to hajj. I did all of these good things. And he will continue to say all the good things he has done.

And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will tell this person to stop. Now we will bring forth the witnesses. And who are these witnesses? Not the neighbors and not the angels. Not the people that you know. But your very own limbs. And then they will say, Yes, ya Allah, we did that. And the feet will say, Yes, ya Allah, we walked to this place. And the skin will say, Yes, ya Allah, this is what happened.

Don't Try to Outsmart Allah

And my dear respected brothers and sisters, a lot of people, before they commit a sin, they say to themselves, Allah is the most forgiving. He will definitely forgive me. And they walk into that sin. And we all know for a fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is indeed the most merciful and the most forgiving. But here, whenever this person tries to walk into the sin and says that, this is called trying to outsmart Allah. And indeed nobody can outsmart Allah.

So the question that all of us must leave with tonight is this. On that day, whenever we are standing in front of Allah jalla jalaluh, will our limbs stand with us or will they stand against us?

And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make our hands witnesses for us, not against us. And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make our feet walk to only what pleases Him. And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make our eyes look at what is halal, and to make our ears hear only what brings us closer to You.

Ya Allah, we ask You to forgive the sins that we know of and the sins that we do not know of. And Ya Allah, we ask You to allow our limbs to testify for our iman and our salah and all the good things that we have done and our good deeds, and to protect us from the shame of having our own bodies speak against us.

JazakumAllahu khayran. SubhanakAllahu wa bihamdik. Nashhadu an la ilaha illa ant, Nastaghfiruka wa natubu ilayk. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Third Khatirah - Small Steps Toward Allah

Bismillah walhamdulillah wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala.

I want to first and foremost start off by thanking Epic Mashjid, the board, our beloved Ustadh Muhammad Ba'ajur, and only with the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessing me and giving me the opportunity to be able to stand here and talk to everyone today.

A lot of youth think that spirituality requires big changes or perfection. They think that they all of a sudden have to stop doing every single bad thing that they're doing and they have to become this magical, perfect human being. But to be completely honest, our own interpretation of how we should be and how we should go about things isn't always the way that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to go about those things.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 93, Hadith 627)

Allah asks for effort, even if that effort is the tiniest of efforts.

My Personal Journey

Around nine years ago, when I came to this community from Denver, Colorado, I joined Darul Qur'an Hifz School under our beloved Sheikh Sajjad Gul. And I came in with all these ambitions, all these things, oh, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna memorize this amount, I'm gonna do my Hifz like this. But in reality, that's not really how it went.

I started with memorizing barely anything, struggling to memorize a couple of lines, subhanAllah. And some of the days, I completely messed up. Some days I didn't want to do anything and it came to the point where some days I just wanted to quit and I didn't even want to look at a Qur'an again, to be completely honest.

But every single time, I took a foot forward and I took a step back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala there was always a door wide open and ready for me to come back. And subhanAllah, till this day, I still think about it. All those small things that I did, those small efforts that I put, actually amounted to something.

The Journey of Consistency

From struggling to stay consistent to memorizing more and more, from going memorizing a couple of lines, struggling to memorize one ayah to be able to proficiently memorize up to five pages a day. And then if we go a step further, all of a sudden I'm being given this name, a hafidh. What is that سبحان الله? I'm thinking, me, a hafidh. And then take it a step forward, being asked, given the opportunity to travel abroad just to recite Qur'an. Me, out of all people, I'm thinking, what did I do to deserve this?

But the reason why I mentioned this, and even now within my own Qur'an, I still make so, so many mistakes. I'm no one special, not at all. I still even today, I make so many mistakes within my own Qur'an. My teachers can testify to this. There's so many things that I have to fix and I need to do. But the reason why I mentioned this is it shows if you take one step towards Allah sincerely, Allah will make things happen that you never imagined can even be possible.

The Beloved Deed to Allah

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6464)

Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, "Do good deeds properly, sincerely, and moderately. And know that those deeds will not be the reason for you to enter Jannah. And the most beloved deed to Allah is the regular and consistent deed. And even if that deed is the most smallest of deeds."

Think about that. Allah didn't ask for some grand thing, I want you to pray this many tahajjuds, many qiyam. Just do one thing consistently and regularly. That is the most beloved deed to Him. And سبحان الله, it just shows, even in my own journey, I can go on and on about how many times I've done something that to me it amounted to nothing. I'm like, what am I doing? This means nothing. But سبحان الله, that small effort, that small thing that I did opened doors and allowed me to be a part of things. I was like, how is this even possible? Me, I live in Dallas, Texas. How am I able to be across the world reciting at an event? It just didn't make sense.

The Power of Local Opportunities

Another moment that سبحان الله was a really major turning point in my life was our own Amma Ba'ad Khatib competition. A lot of people, especially the community, they view this competition as, oh, Mashallah, it's good, it empowers the youth. But again, it's just a local competition. But in reality, it's far, far away from what it actually was. The Amma Ba'ad competition was such a major turning point in my life. Allah used this opportunity to carve so, so many paths for me. It taught me the power of voice, clarity, confidence, and more importantly, it shows me how Allah honors effort.

سبحان الله. The experience became a door to more opportunities, more confidence, and moments. And it gave me experience and exposure to moments I never thought were possible. I was being able to sit in people that I looked up to ever since I was a kid. And again, I want to bring it back. None of this happened because of me. I'm not special. Matter of fact, there's a lot of people in the crowd that are more special than me and have more opportunities and have more, they're able to do way more than me. But it shows that Allah's promise is true. Again, Allah's promise is true. If you take one sincere step, one, Allah will take you further than you could ever imagine.

It's Not Too Late

Some of you think, I'm too far behind, I'm too distracted, too inconsistent. And the worst of it, I'm too late. Wallahi, I swear by the one who created me and created every single person in this masjid that you're not too late. Allah's doors are wide open. You're young and you still have time. The only thing is Allah is waiting for you to take that step forward. Allah doesn't want you perfect. He wants you to start.

And I know I'm in no position to give advice because if there was anyone in this crowd that needs advice the most, it's me. But I will say one thing, especially for the youth. The people you surround yourselves with are so crucial and are so important. They will make you or they'll break you. They'll either be the reason for you to go to jannah or jahannam. Think about that. The people you surround yourself with, you don't think that much about it. They can literally be the reason why you enter hellfire or you go to paradise. Think about that.

Choose Your Friends Wisely

There was an ayah in the Quran, Allah says:

"Woe to me! I wish I had never taken so and so as a close friend."

And adding on that, there's a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, a hasan hadith. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4833)

"You are of the religion of your friend. So choose who you'll befriend wisely."