Allah Protects the Believers in Ways We Cant Comprehend | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Ustadh Omar Malik

Opening — Khutbah Introduction

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The Story of Tufail ibn Amr ad-Dawsi

Tufail ibn Amr ad-Dawsi was an eloquent poet and a respected nobleman, and people looked up to him. When he would speak, people listened to him. And these are the type of people — if they enter into Islam, they spread Islam everywhere, alhamdulillah.

And that is what we see happening in front of our eyes. But before that, somebody has to show resilience, we have to show patience, we have to be non-judgmental, to allow these people to enter into Islam. And that is the story of Tufail ibn Amr ad-Dawsi.

So he comes to Makkah in the early days of the Prophet ﷺ, and he is told: beware of Muhammad, he is a magician, and he divides families, and when he speaks, it confuses people, it bewilders them, it really takes them away from a good mindset. So this is all propaganda — just like they say things about Islam and people who speak for the truth — so he is actually impacted by that type of propaganda to the point where he puts cotton in his ears. So worried was he about what Prophet Muhammad might say, and what the Qur'an might say, that this wise man, an eloquent poet, a nobleman of his community, puts literally cotton in his ears so he doesn't have to hear the message of the Qur'an.

Today, there are people who have done the same — maybe not the physical cotton in their ears, but they have shut down any ability for them to submit to Allah, and allow Islam to enter their hearts. But this is not what happened with Tufail. Allah had better plans for him. So he comes, and simply by looking at the demeanor and the way the Prophet Muhammad was worshipping Allah, the beauty of the Prophet's prayer and the calmness in his face, it brought him closer to Allah, and he talked to himself.

This is the internal conversation that me and you don't have access to. But people who don't think anyone is watching, don't think that others don't know what's going on — because when we give da'wah, someone is always watching, people are paying attention. And so just by looking at the Prophet ﷺ, he said to himself: I am a poet, which takes a lot of hard work to get to that level, an eloquent man — I can easily distinguish between good and bad. So then what am I so worried about listening to some Qur'an and whatever this man has to say? So he takes out the cotton. And this is where the guidance of Allah comes — first we have to remove the cottons of the ear, or the heart, and the veil that is in front of the eyes, to make that connection back to Allah, if we expect to be guided by Allah.

So he says: By Allah, I had never heard words more beautiful, or a message more just and more true. As he started to listen to the Qur'an being recited by the Prophet ﷺ — last time we were here, we also talked about the difference between listening to the Qur'an and hearing the Qur'an. Unfortunately, many of us — may Allah protect us — and others who are not yet into Islam, might have heard the Qur'an, but we never actually listened to the Qur'an. It actually hasn't entered our hearts.

But at this time, this man is actually listening. And he goes to the Prophet ﷺ and he says: O Muhammad, your people told me terrible things about you, but I've heard your words and they are beautiful. Teach me some of your faith. So the Prophet ﷺ — does he focus on politics? Does he focus on his own agenda to gain followers? No. He focuses on the message of Tawheed.

He simply talks about the message of Tawheed, which is the most powerful ideology in the world, and it is what makes people the slaves of Allah and frees them from any other type of slavery in the world. And so when he mentioned to him the Tawheed of Allah, and the last surahs of the Qur'an that are so powerful, this man immediately accepted Islam. Now it doesn't end there though.

When a person truly believes in Islam, they want to spread the message with others. So he says: I will go back to my people and I will spread the message of Islam. He did not make excuses, did not say that I'm not a Hafidh of the Qur'an, I don't know the language, I am just entering into Islam. He said: what I know is good enough for me to bring people close to Allah. So he goes back to his tribe, and he tries — but he fails. Only his father and his wife accept Islam.

He comes back to the Prophet and he says: O Prophet of Allah, the tribe of Daws has disobeyed me, they refuse to believe — please pray against my people, because they don't want to listen. And we, knowing better than the Orientalists and the haters of Islam, we know exactly what the response of the Prophet is going to be. We as believers, we know — we don't even need to read into the books — we know that the Prophet is not going to pray against these people.

So what was the response of the Prophet ﷺ? "O Allah, guide the people of Daws." And he said it again: "O Allah, guide the people of Daws." That mercy deeply affected Tufail, and he said: I will return back and I will be patient this time, and I will continue to preach the message of Islam with love. Rather than judging, I will use the patience and love card. This is how I am going to invite people to Islam.

The Conversion of Abu Huraira

He goes back — subhanAllah — years go by, and subhanAllah, a man by the name of Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi accepts Islam. And my brothers and sisters, this man — we know him today as Abu Huraira, radiAllahu anhu. From the da'wah of Tufail ibn Amr ad-Dawsi, Abu Huraira is his nickname, but his actual name was Abd al-Rahman. He accepts Islam, goes on to become the greatest narrator in Islamic history, through whose work and hard work and consistency in learning, we have the majority of the hadith. If you take Abu Huraira out of the picture, most of the hadith of Islam — they disappear. This is the legendary Abu Huraira, radiAllahu anhu.

So they both go to meet the Prophet ﷺ, and this is after the migration to Madinah. So Abu Huraira didn't even get too much time in the beginning with the Prophet ﷺ, yet the little time that he had was enough for him to become a legend in Islam, because he dedicated himself fully to learning from the Prophet ﷺ and to preserve the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. So Tufail ibn Amr was the one who guided Abu Huraira to Islam — he was his mentor and his leader.

Today, many of us might not know about Tufail ibn Amr by name. We all know about Abu Huraira, but guess who reaps the rewards of his efforts, of Abu Huraira's efforts? It was Tufail ibn Amr ad-Dawsi, because he gave da'wah, he gave priority to Islam, and he was able to bring Abu Huraira into Islam — obviously with the guidance of Allah.

Lessons from the Story

Lesson One: Curiosity is a Good Thing

Being curious is a good thing. If we tell our youth, "Why are you being curious? Just accept Islam the way it is without asking questions," we're not giving them the right message. But at the same time, for the youth — just being curious and having doubts about Allah is not enough. You've got to do the next step. You have to learn the knowledge, so you can remove those doubts.

Islam is the truth. It will speak for itself, but you have to take the next step. You can't just say, "Well, this propaganda that people are saying kind of makes sense," and not open up the Qur'an, not give the time to go into a series of halaqah, not work on your knowledge, not learn about the names of Allah and the seerah of the Prophet, and then say something is wrong with Islam. That's not how it works. So curiosity does lead to truth, but you have to do your part.

Lesson Two: Never Give Up on People

This is exactly what Islam teaches us. The Prophet ﷺ, to the end of his uncle's life — Abu Talib — even though we know that you can't make du'a for a disbeliever, the Prophet ﷺ kept on asking Allah: "Please forgive Abu Talib" before he passed away. And ayat were revealed because he wanted so badly for his uncle Abu Talib to accept Islam — but Abu Talib never did. However, the Prophet ﷺ was protected in an indirect way through Abu Talib in ways we can't even imagine. The fact that Abu Talib did not accept Islam was one of the greatest ways Allah protected His Prophet ﷺ. So never give up on people, even if they disbelieve. We cannot give up on them. And eventually you will see people who you didn't even expect enter into Islam — and they become legends in Islam.

May Allah make us of those legends. Ameen. And "legend," brothers and sisters, doesn't mean that you have to be known on TikTok and have millions of followers. It could be a brother or a sister that you bring into Islam who goes on to do great things — but it was your effort and consistency and belief in Allah and trust in Allah and not making excuses — that you reap the rewards of everything good that they do.

Lesson Three: The Ripple Effect of Da'wah

Don't ever underestimate what you already know about Islam and make sure da'wah becomes part and parcel of what you live by.

Lesson Four: Be Patient in Calling Others to Good

Brothers and sisters, the removing of the cotton is exactly what we see — it is metaphorical to exactly what we see that the people of Gaza have done to the whole world because of their persistence in Islam. Islam is speaking for itself. The cottons of the ears and the veils of the eyes are being removed from the majority of the world because of the belief of the people of Gaza. They didn't have to speak, but people saw the beauty of the way they worship Allah. The woman became stronger than men in certain cases — where they are holding their children and men are crying and the lady is saying: "Do not cry for my child, I will meet my child in Jannah."

She becomes stronger because of her faith — and that is what people are seeing, the beauty of our worship, and that is what's bringing them to Islam. May Allah help us preserve the message of Islam by using us for His cause. May Allah allow us to never make excuses and to consistently work for His sake.

Second Khutbah — How Allah Protects the Believers

Dear brothers and sisters, how else does Allah protect the believers?

Protection One: Through the Angels

Allah protects us through the angels. That's why in the beginning of the khutbah I said: may Allah allow this khutbah to lead you into Jannah. That's how we should look at the Friday khutbah and everything that you do. Every step that you took to come to the house of Allah — angels descend upon these people, tranquility descends in their hearts, and the creation of Allah — the ant in the ant hole, the fish in the ocean and the birds in the sky — even the creation of Allah is making du'a for you. Authentic hadith. If we believed in that, wouldn't we be coming to khutbah and trying to make it to the first row? Every step that we're taking, we're trying to make sure that this is how we look at obedience to Allah. And that is the world of the angels.

And Allah mentions all throughout the Qur'an — in this ayah Allah mentions:

For every person, there is an angel in succession before and behind them guarding him by the command of Allah. Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. But before that, Allah mentions that you are surrounded — as believers, if you believe in Allah and you submit to Him, you are being protected by the angels from behind you and before you, at all times.

Protection Two: Through Surah al-Kahf

In Surah al-Kahf, why is it that we recite specifically Surah al-Kahf every single Friday? Because that is the message in each one of the stories of Surah al-Kahf. The people of the cave — they trusted Allah, and Allah protected them. The people in the boat in the story of Khidr and Musa ﷺ — even though damaging their boat seems like the worst thing that could happen to them, it was actually protecting them from losing the boat and their livelihood altogether. The orphans — for whom Khidr started to build the wall, and Musa ﷺ questioned that — he found out that that wall was protecting them for the future where there was wealth waiting for these orphans, and Allah protected their wealth.

Protection Three: Through Istighfar

Do not think istighfar is as simple as just saying astaghfirullah. Istighfar and repentance to Allah is an attitude of returning back to Him. It's the way you look at Allah. It's your ideology towards Allah — that yes, I messed up, but I know Allah will forgive me as long as I return back to Him — and you do not make excuses. With that attitude, you're going to be protected in ways you can't even imagine. As mentioned in Surah Nuh:

And Allah will give you increase in your wealth and children. "Ask forgiveness of your Lord — indeed, He is the Perpetual Forgiver." If you continuously ask Allah for forgiveness, not only will He forgive you, but He will also bring benefits and protection in this world and protect you from the next world and the trials of the next world.

As Hasan al-Basri, rahimahullah, mentioned: Istighfar blocks calamities. It brings ease and it protects you and your homes. It protects your loved ones and your homes.

Protection Four: Through Du'a

There is also a du'a that we can make every single day, which is mentioned in the hadith — that when you make this du'a, it protects you from calamities, from sicknesses, from evil attempts, and from anything harmful. And only the harm that will come to you is by Allah's permission. But you are protecting yourself fully by saying:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 5088; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3388)

"In the name of Allah, with whose name nothing in the earth or the heavens can cause harm, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." Easy to memorize. You say this in the morning and the evening and you have the complete protection of Allah. So apart from istighfar, it is through your du'as to Allah that you also receive Allah's protection.

Protection Five: Through Taqwa — Consciousness of Allah

There is a special protection that comes when we have taqwa of Allah:

And whoever has consciousness and fear of Allah and submits to Allah, He will make ways out for him in ways he can't even imagine.

The Names of Allah and the Story of Yusuf ﷺ

I would like to end with the beautiful story of Yusuf ﷺ, which is encompassed with the protection of Allah and the embodiment of one of the greatest names of Allah — the One who protects you in subtle ways.

Knowing the names of Allah is so critical — for you to be able to remove doubts about Allah, for you to have a connection with Allah when you know that He is protecting you at all times.

I want to bring your attention to the story of Yusuf ﷺ, and what's amazing is the names of Allah and the way Allah conveys the message of His special protection for the people who believe in Him through His names and attributes. In verse 6, Yusuf ﷺ is being mentored — and I use the word "mentor" because that's something lacking today. If you have a good mentor, say alhamdulillah to Allah — someone who has time to mentor you in the names of Allah, in the seerah, in connecting with the Qur'an.

So Yaqub ﷺ, the father of Yusuf ﷺ, being the amazing mentor to his child, tells him at the end of verse 6:

That Allah is your Lord — the Most Wise and the Most Knowing. Al-'Alim — the Most Knowing — and Al-Hakim — the Most Wise.

What's interesting is you go to the end of the surah, in verse 100, when Yusuf ﷺ has lived through his 30–40 years of struggles and has finally come to success — he has control of the economy of Egypt, the dream that he had is finally fulfilled, he is successful in every way — and at the end he mentions the exact two names of Allah that his father had taught him in the beginning of his life. It's not haphazard — the Qur'an has everything precise. Those are the two names of Allah that allowed Yusuf ﷺ to get through all of his struggles in his life. It was his connection to Allah.

And that is why we also see Luqman ﷺ when he is mentoring his child — he didn't teach him all of his struggles, all of the other isms of the world, and all of the other things that we get distracted with. He focused on Tawheed and the names of Allah. And he said: Allah is subtle, He takes care of you, He protects you, He'll be there for you — just trust in Allah. And He is the Most Aware — Al-Khabir.

May Allah allow us to connect with Allah in that manner. Ameen.

Seeing the World Through Allah's Protection

Maybe if we just change the way we think about the world around us and look at it from the lens of how Allah is the Most Subtle and He is always protecting you, then everything starts to feel okay. You feel that Allah will take care of you at the end of the day.

So yes — in the story of Yusuf ﷺ, if you look at it from a high level, everything is going from bad to worse. A young boy in Palestine, betrayed by his own family — by his brothers specifically — thrown into a well, ends up becoming a slave, then is accused of zina, ends up in prison, is being plotted and planned against — and at the end he ends up becoming the minister of Egypt and being victorious in every way by every definition of the word.

But now let's look at the same story from the lens of Allah — the One who protects you in subtle ways:

If the brothers didn't put him in the well, he would have never been connected with the caravan. If the caravan didn't pick him up, he would have never been enslaved. If he didn't become a slave, he would not have been able to enter the politician's house. If he didn't enter the politician's house, the zina case wouldn't have come up, and he wouldn't have ended up in prison. If he didn't end up in prison, he wouldn't have met the person who understood his capability of interpreting dreams. And if that man who left the prison had not forgotten about Yusuf ﷺ until many years later — it would not have been the perfect timing. But it was perfect timing that he remembered at the time the king who was living a life where no one was able to interpret his dream needed a solution badly. That is when Allah wanted to connect Yusuf ﷺ.

Sheikh Mohammed, who has been to this community, gave a beautiful example. Imagine when you get cards put in your face — subhanAllah. I am on the opposite side. I work for relief work many times — you give the card, you talk to people about the projects, and they're like, "You know what, I have too many cards in my face, too many organizations," and they just ignore it. But subhanAllah, sometimes let's say a plumber comes to you and he gives you a card. What value does that card have for you? You put it in your pocket and you move on. But subhanAllah — the day that pipe bursts — may Allah protect all of us, keep an eye out on the pipes especially when it gets cold — but the day that pipe breaks or bursts in your house and it is a flood situation, how important is that card at that time? It's like worth gold to you. You will do anything to make that phone call, because at that time you need it the most.

When I, for example, look at the relief work that I do at Village of Hope and the water wells that they're building — sometimes you tell people but they don't pay attention. But it's only when somebody passes away in their family and they reach out to me and they say, "You know what, that project would be great — I would like to leave a legacy for my loved one who passed away," because that's when they need it the most. And this is how Allah's timing works, brothers and sisters. Trust in Allah's timing.

The Story of Abraha and the Year of the Elephant

I end with this — something so beautiful from the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ which we shared with our youth in our program yesterday, alhamdulillah, and I wanted to share with our community.

When Abraha, the ruler from Yemen — a Christian leader — came to destroy the Ka'bah, he brought elephants, he brought the technologies and the powers that the people of Quraysh had no answer for. Just like when we see money and campaigns and smear campaigns and resources and weapons being used against our brothers and sisters and we feel we have no power against this — this was Abraha in that story. So there's a power trying to destroy the Ka'bah, and on the other hand you have the mushrikeen of Quraysh who are completely helpless. They can't do anything about the situation, so they exit Makkah and they're just waiting for the imminent destruction of the Ka'bah.

But subhanAllah — the elephants, every time they tried to face the direction of the Ka'bah, they turned away. The key elephant's name was Mahmud — subhanAllah — Mahmud. Every time they tried, the elephants would just not face towards the Ka'bah. And subhanAllah, you know the story of how Abraha was destroyed and the people of Quraysh were protected.

But in the midst of all of this — who is being protected by Allah? It is a woman by the name of Aminah, who is pregnant with the greatest man that would ever live — and that is our beloved Prophet ﷺ. And he was born in the Year of the Elephant. Look at the way Allah protects — subhanAllah.

And this is the Qur'an and the Sunnah — full of the beautiful protection of Allah for the believers. All we have to do, my brothers and sisters, is to believe in Allah's plan and to submit to Him. May Allah make us of those who submit to Allah. May Allah make us of those who submit to Allah. Ameen.