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The Obligations of Sitting in Coffeeshops

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani (q)

18 Sept 2009 - 29th Ramadan 1430AH - Jumu`ah Khutbah

As-Siddiq Institute & Mosque, Burton, Michigan

Alhamdulillah. Ayyuhal muminoona...(du`a)

O Muslims! O believers! Ramadan is ending and Allah (swt) is happy with His servants, that they have fasted Ramadan, where Prophet (s) said in authentic hadith, "Fasting is for Me and I will reward for it. He will take the fasting and turn it into rewards. You must be happy that Allah swt gave Ramadan. In Ramadan in the last ten days Allah will release you from Hellfire. The last ten days will be innocence from hellfire. Allah will release you and when Ramadan ends....what people do? Some pray, some don't maybe they pray at home. Sunnah mu'aqqadah, it is sunnah before Dhuhr, best time after Ishraq by 1 hour. After prayer what they do? Usually they go roaming in streets, might be not in this country. Although they were roaming before sitting around the coffee cups and people drinking, eating, smoking, talking and looking. And not giving importance of what Prophet (s) said. That is why it is very important to say .... people say, let us take our children for picnic but important to say what hadith Bukhari and Muslim say.

People are ignorant; there are thousands of ahadith beside what Imam Bukhari and Muslim wrote, every moment he was speaking to Sahaba, there are so many authentic ahadith out there. So this one is from Sahih Muslim. Prophet (s) said:

إياكم والجلوس في الطرقات فقالوا : يا رسول الله ما لنا من مجالسنا بُدّ ، نتحدث فيها ! فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم (( فإذا أبيتم إلا المجلس فأعطوا الطريق حقه ، قالوا : وما حق الطريق يا رسول الله ؟ قال : ( غض البصر وكف الأذى ، ورد السلام ، والأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر ) متفق عليه

Iyyakum wa 'l-juloosu fi 't-turuqaat - I am warning you avoid sitting in coffee shops around street. Are you doing that? Yes we are not only drinking, putting one leg on another having a cigarette and blowing smoke on each other face because in street you can smoke...in Muslim countries they bring sheesha and smoking it, backbiting everyone. This is the reward for Eid because they fasted and now they have to do that. Prophet (s) said I am warning you don't sit on street but they said ..."O Prophet, we cannot stop that, this is our own meeting area, we have to sit and complain". Look, how dare they speak against, instead of saying sami'na wa aat'ana. They said we cannot then Prophet (s) lowered it because if Prophet (s) prohibited and they did then difficulty for them. So what Prophet (s) said, "fa idha abayatum illa al-majlis fa-`atoo at-tareeq haqqah - if you insist that you want to stay and keep this meeting area in street by drinking coffee or anything give the right of street if you sit there."

Many scholars say don't sit in restaurant, if a hungry person passing by the negative energy will effect you the jealousy, the envy that goes from one to one, you are eating and they are not. You are wasting food, this envy is reflected on you and that is why you get sick more often. They eat out more...hire a cook better than to go and cater outside. If you cater then know from who you are catering if that cook has full ablution or not. If that person is junub means he did not take shower, that food is poisoned. If that cook is angry, your food is poisoned to eat it. If that one, who is cooking with a salary, but the owner does not give permission to eat his eyes will look and your food is poisoned. He might go to toilet and not wash hands, this food is poisoned. Shaytaan says don't wash hand, for them ablution is not mentioned. It is a backward thing of Muslims. There are many disciplines we have to follow in Islam.

He said if you have to meet in cafe then give the walkway a right. "What is the right of someone walking in the street?" They asked, "O Prophet", he said, "ghadu 'l-basar", keep your eyes down, don't backbite". Who can sit on walk way and keep eyes down? You travel your eyes in good journey looking at everyone and try to criticize all in front. Which means you cannot sit on walkway. Unless you are sincere and drink with head down with a straw. So that is something you remind people. It is ridiculous trying to eat with your head bent down and you cannot look right or left and that means that the Prophet (s) was giving them a hard time with sitting there.

Today you go and see people sitting on streets everywhere. After, you keep your eyes down make sure you don't harm anyone. Sometimes boys or girls are naughty they want to pass comments to people, "why this one is wearing high heels?, Why this one is having a turban?, Why this one is having a beard"? He said don't harm and spread false rumour and he said give salaam and accept salaam back. People today they don't say salaam or are afraid to say to someone. Salaam is sunnah. Only if they know you. How I know, if you don't have sunnah clothes? In eastern countries they have a big box at the entrance of masjid. Many, many hats like white ones, people, come and cover their head to pray, at least with sunnah, to identify you as Muslim. Now no one knows Muslim on street, very different behaviours. I saw in Sri Lanka a plastic hat, coconut hat, mango hat, apple hat, all kinds of hats. Make nice smell. To give salaam, if you don't know how you give salaam?

To call for good and avoid bad. Means you have to tell yourself the bad desires and tell other people to avoid so I will end with this.

Prophet (s) said,أفضل الجهاد كلمة عدل عند سلطان جائر - afdhalu 'l-jihad, "The best of jihad." Today they use this word for many things in a wrong way. In the hadith as identified by scholars there are fourteen different jihad, one is against aggressors and thirteen against yourself. Prophet (s) said, "The best of jihad is to say "kalimatu `adlin `inda sultaanin jaa'ir - to say a just word in front of a tyrant;" to say a just word, a good word, to remind him of the bad things he is doing. Who is that tyrant? That is you first, as there is evilness in yourself, that small clot that Shaytan enters. It means we are doing things against what Allah (swt) and Prophet (s) ordered. So we have to say a just word against those who are attacking us.

May Allah (swt) guide us to follow the way of Prophet (s) and Sahaba (r) and give us our reward and change imitation fasting into real fasting. Ameen.

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