Burnley, UK Jumu`ah Khutbah
DEC 2009 UK TOUR
(Translated from traditional Arabic du`a)
I say this and ask Allah Almighty's forgiveness for me and you and for all those seeking forgiveness. Praise be to Allah and peace and blessings upon His Apostle, Prophet Muhammad and his family, and companions of the Prophet out of respect and honor to His Excellency's high status, the Chosen One. God has informed us and declared when he said, "Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect."(33:56)
God bless, send blessings on Your Prophet Muhammad, who has forbidden his nation Hellfire. He is the Pride of the Arabs and non-Arabs, the Master and Protector for the Two Worlds, the most respected master, Abu 'l-Qaasim Muhammad (s). O those who yearn for the light of his beauty and stand in need of his intercession, send blessings on him and salute with all respect. Allah exalt our master Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You have exalted Ibraheem and the family of Ibraheem! In all the worlds, verily You are the Praiseworthy, and Exalted. And bless O Allah, our master Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You have blessed Ibraheem and the family of Ibraheem! In all the worlds, verily You are the Praiseworthy, and Exalted.
O Allah, forgive the believing men and women and Muslim men and women, from among the living and dead, and forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in faith and do not allow any hatred in our hearts against those who believe! Our Lord, the most Merciful! Allah, make Islam and Muslims triumphant, and glorify the word of this religion and shame infidelity and the unbelievers. You are all capable and most worthy to answer our prayers.
O our Lord! Grant us good in this world and in the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of Hell, (2:201) and allow us to enter Heaven along with the righteous ones! O Almighty One! O Forgiver! O the Most Generous! O Concealer of faults! O Lord of the Worlds. Send Your Peace and Blessings upon our prophet, Muhammad, and upon his family and companions. Exalted is the Lord God Almighty, beyond what they ascribe to Him, and peace on the messengers and praise be to the Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon our master, Muhammad, and his family and companions.
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O Muslims, as-salaamu`alaykum! It is the first or second day of the Islamic year. May Allah make this a happy Islamic year for all of you and your families. It’s an honor for me to be here today in this masjid (mosque) to see these beautiful people, and to say that wherever you go now these days, with Allah’s (swt) will, you find a masjid. And maybe in the same street you might see many masaajid, not only one. I was passing by one of these streets, and they told me there is a masjid here. We moved five minutes, and another masjid. We moved five minutes more, and another masjid. They told me in this district alone there are 19 masaajid.
Alhamdulillah, everywhere around the world, you will find a masjid and will you find that people are praying, and there are not enough masaajid. There is one masjid overseas, it can take 150,000 people inside, and outside it can take 100,000 people, musalli. So it can take a total of 250,000 people at this one masjid in Jakarta, Indonesia. Allah (swt) is inspiring His sincere servants to build masaajid and decorate them, not like Wahaabi masaajid where there are no writings in it, they look like a warehouse. There are many masaajid today that are like warehouses. Allah revealed Qur’an to humanity filled with honors, filled with decorations for Ummat an-Nabee (s). It is full of favors that Allah is bestowing on the Ummah. So a masjid has to look nice so that when people come, they would like to sit, not like a warehouse, where you enter and want to run away.
O Muslims! We have to go back to our roots, to what Prophet (s) taught his (s) Sahaaba. He didn’t emphasize on one thing, but he made the religion to be of different regions, different means, and topics. Today we are trying to make the religion one topic and we are limiting our ability to understand Islam to one topic, which are the five pillars. We say that Islam consists of the five pillars, but we don’t continue, we stop at that.
Sayyidina `Umar (r) mentioned the hadith when Jibreel (a) came to see Prophet (s) and to ask questions. Sayyidina `Umar (r) related that a man appeared in front of the masjid, entering the presence of Prophet (s). He was someone they didn’t know, he was a stranger. Prophet (s) said in the end, it was Jibreel (a), “He came to teach you your religion.” So this means that religion is within this hadith. Jibreel (a) asked Prophet (s) about three issues on religion that complete each other: maa al-islam wa maa al-imaan wa maa al-ihsaan. You cannot take one and leave the rest. Today we are taking one and leaving the rest. Why do we have to leave the rest when it is a completion of the base, the structure of Islam?
When you built this mosque, for sure, you had a structure to build the masjid on. You cannot put this roof without having a structure, then there is no way to hold it. So Prophet (s) gave the structure of Islam and built on it the other two important columns. How many dimensions are in this world and this universe? Three dimensions. In this religion, how many dimensions are there? Three dimensions: islam, imaan, ihsaan (five pillars of Islam, six pillars of faith, and to worship Allah [swt] as if you see Him). You cannot have one dimension and leave the other two. You have to have the full dimensions.
So Jibreel (a) came and said, “Yaa Rasoolullah, yaa Muhammad!, maa al-Islam?” And everyone knows what Prophet (s) said: the Shahaadah, five prayers, zakat, fasting, and Hajj,. These are the five pillars, but your structure is not complete. You have the floor and the walls, but you cannot live without a roof. The roof for all of that is `aqaa'id, belief, imaan. Amantu billahi wa malaa’ikatihi wa kutubihi wa rusulihi wa bi 'l-yawmi 'l-aakhir wa bi 'l-qadr. You have to believe in the roof; that you are going one day, because `aqeedah (belief) is the most important. You have to close that structure. It cannot be closed without real `aqeedah. That’s why the Imams came with `aqeedah, they taught us that. Prophet (s) taught the Sahaaba (r), and we are not at the caliber of the Sahaaba (r) to understand well. We need Imams that will be like an intermediary for us.
Allah (swt) inspired the Four Imams of Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah. First Imam Abu Hanifa (q), second Imam Malik (q), third Imam Shafi`ee (q), and fourth Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (q). Allah inspired them to simplify our `aqeedah for us. It is not so easy to put the structure correctly, to put that roof correctly. You cannot have half a roof. Then rain or snow will come in and then you will be in a problem. So they came as Imams and gave us that simplicity in explaining, so that we may understand with our limited capacity, what Sahaaba (r) understood from Prophet (s).
We are not Sahaaba (r), companions of Prophet (s). They were hearing him, “Sayyid al-Bashr” (s), Master of Humans. They were hearing directly from “Huwa 'l-Habeeb” (s), the Beloved One. There are no two, as Imam Busayri (q) emphasized when he said huw al-habeeb, and there is no other habeeb. Imam Busayri understood the reality of Sayyidina Muhammad (s). No one can say that they are “Habeebullah” (beloved of Allah) except Sayyidina Muhammad (s). Imam Busayri meant, “You don’t need to go anywhere else, as there is no (other) habeeb."
We can say, “Muhammadu Habeebullah (Muhammad is Allah’s Beloved)” and we can say, “Allahu Habeebu Muhammad (Allah is Muhammad’s Beloved).” You can say, Ibraheem Khaleelullah (Ibraheem is Allah’s Friend)”, but you cannot say Allahu Khaleelu Ibraheem (Allah is Ibraheem’s Friend).” In Arabic, it is considered impolite. Allah is not Khaleel Ibraheem, but Ibraheem (a) is Khaleelullah. That is a big difference. Allah gave that reality and honor to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), whose grandfather is Sayyidina Ibraheem (a), Khaleelu ‘r-Rahmaan. There is one habeeb (beloved) and we must follow him (s). All of them take from Prophet (s). Either you take big quantities from the ocean, or you take a handful; it depends on your capacity. Our capacity is a handful. Whatever high level of knowledge Imams reach today, their capacity of understanding Shari`ah is minimal compared to the Sahaaba (r); there is no comparison.
The Four Imams came to introduce to us Islam so we may understand it. They came with `aqaiq. They said that first you have to fix your `aqeedah. If you have a wrong way of understanding Islam, then your `aqeedah is not perfect and you have to perfect it. Insha`Allah, all of Ummat an-Nabee (s) can perfect their beliefs, to understand what is accepted and what is not. And the most important precept is, you cannot say to Muslims that they are kafir (non-believer). Whoever says and believes la ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah will enter Paradise, not Hellfire. This means all of Ummat an-Nabi (s) is ummatun marhooma wa ummatun maghfoora - a nation bestowed with mercy and a forgiven nation. With the shafa`ah that Allah (swt) gave to Prophet (s), he will take his ummah with him to Paradise and he is not going leave behind any of his ummah who are on the real `aqeedah. Even those who were on false `aqeedah will say, “Yaa Rabbee, bring us back to normal `aqeedah.” Because they are our brothers and sisters, we don’t say they are kaafir; that is Allah’s judgment, not ours.
So our building needs a structure, meaning it needs the five pillars of Islam, which you must learn completely. But your building is incomplete. To complete it, you need Maqaam al-Imaan, the Station of Faith, which consists of six pillars that you must complete. Now you have a structure, but it is empty, with no carpets, chandeliers, calligraphy, and décor, so when you enter it you feel very content. Not like entering a ghost house with no writing on the door, nothing written inside like Allah (swt) and Muhammad (s). So then what do you need? You need to decorate your building that you have built on Maqaam al-Islam (five pillars) and Maqam al-Imaan (six pillars).
Jibreel (a) asked for us to learn to decorate our building, our hearts. If the heart is beating, the person is still alive, even if they are in a coma. Some comatose people may be brain-dead but their heart is alive. We have to decorate this heart, the place of focus for everything, as Prophet (s) said, “Verily there is a small flesh that if one is fixed and healthy, the whole body is healthy, but if it is dead and sick, the whole body is sick.” What does Prophet (s) mean? There are two meanings. Keep your heart healthy and your body will be healthy. Do not overeat. I am sorry to say that when many others and I are invited to eat, we eat as if we have never seen food in our lives. We eat too much! Prophet (s) said, “We are a group of people who don’t eat until we are hungry. If we eat, we don’t eat to be full; we eat less than a full stomach in order to keep healthy.” He (s) said, “the stomach is the center of illness.” Most illnesses result from overeating. Before they didn’t have the facilities we have today; Allah (swt) favored us with this knowledge. Also, don’t waste! Today what we throw away is more than what we eat.
So Prophet (s) said that if the heart is healthy, your body is healthy and if it is not healthy, then you are sick. Also, if the heart of your soul is healthy, then you can get these spiritual inspirations. “Allah inspires the self,” as He said in Holy Qur’an, “the bad things for the soul, and the good things, the purity, the sincerity in the soul.” You have to choose one, because Allah gave you a choice. What do we choose? Do we choose the wrong or the right? We have to choose the right. For the soul, you have to choose the right one.
That’s why Jibreel (a) asked Prophet (s) to clarify to the Sahaaba (r), “What is ihsaan, yaa Rasoolullah?” This is the continuation of the hadith. We have islam, imaan, now Prophet speaks of ihsaan. Why did Jibreel (a) say imaan and then ihsaan. We have the five pillars of Islam, it’s enough; he doesn’t need to mention about imaan and ihsaan. This means we need to perfect our religion besides the five pillars, as through the `aqaa'id, the moral excellence and good behaviors, we may reach Maqaam al-Ihsaan. What did Prophet (s) answer? When Jibreel (a) asked that question and Sahaaba were listening, it was something new for them. “To worship Allah as if you are seeing Him.” Can you see Allah (swt)? No. But Prophet (s) is giving them so much meaning, that if you really think you can see Allah, how much would you need to worship in order to be in the Divine Presence? You can see Allah (swt) in akhirah, in Paradise, so work for it. You cannot come with a dirty heart. You cannot pray on this beautiful carpet when there is some dirt on it, you have to clean it. You cannot say Allahu akbar with a dirty heart, and enter the prayer with your mind somewhere else.
Maqaam al-Ihsaan is not easy. It is Maqaam Tazkiyyat an-Nafs, the Station of Purification of the Self. Allah said to Sayyidina Muhammad (s) in Holy Qur’an, “Take from them sadaqah, a donation to clean them with,” which can be voluntary worship, or anything. Prophet (s) makes any excuse to please on our behalf, “Yaa Rabbee, I need to clean them! They are my Ummah, and You gave me shafa`ah. You said to me, ‘Take from their wealth a donation to clean them.” So when you approach Prophet (s) with something, he asks, “Yaa Rabbee, that one approached me with good, so purify him.”
Allah said, “To clean them and to purify them.” What do you do after cleaning? You purify. Take a dishwasher for example, what does it do? It cleans the dishes. After it cleans, it dries them with high heat to sterilize them, meaning they become pure. You eat from those dishes and you will get no sicknesses. In some restaurants they only clean briefly and pass germs from one to another. And that’s not enough. Allah said, “Then make du`a for them. Your prayers upon them will give tranquility in their hearts.” So Maqam al-Ihsaan, the spiritual level Tazkiyyat an-Nafs, is to remove bad manners and behaviors.
You cannot say Allahu akbar and think about how to cheat and lie: it’s not going to work. When we say Allahu akbar, we go to the Presence of Allah (swt). How do you behave? Prophet (s) said to Sahaaba (r), “Worship Allah as if you are seeing Him.” In reality what you are seeing is the Oneness of your Lord. You can see the greatness of His Creation, an indication of His Presence. “Worship Him as if you see Him.” When you are seeing Him, you cannot lie. Then Prophet (s) said, “If you are not able to see Him, still He sees you.” Allah (swt) sees what we are doing. So clean your money, yourself, and your family with your donations, which can be anything.
Jibreel (a) continued, asking Prophet (s), “Tell me about the Day of Judgment.” Prophet (s) said, “The one who is asking knows more than the one who has been asked, yaa Jibreel (a). That is for Allah (swt).” Jibreel (a) said, “Then tell me about the signs of the Last Days.” Are we in the Last Days? Unfortunately, none of our `ulama (scholars) today speak about the Last Days. (According to signs narrated in ahadith) We are now in the Last Days. Prophet (s) taught the Sahaaba (r) the importance of the Last Days and the appearance of the false messiah, al-Maseeha ‘d-Dajjal. Sahaaba (r) used to think that the Dajjal is coming in their time. So today no one is warning or preparing us about the Last Days, and Prophet (s) mentioned it in the most famous, most important hadith of Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa 'l-Jama`ah and all Muslims, known as “hadith Jibreel”.
Jibreel (a) said, “Tell me about the signs.” Prophet (s) said, “You will see the barefooted, naked Bedouins competing in building tall buildings. At that time, deserts will be turned into tall buildings (high rises).” We see that today everywhere you go in Muslim and Arab countries, what Prophet (s) predicted 1,400 years ago. That is a sign for us to clean and purify ourselves, there is no time. At any time Allah (swt) will send the Angel of Death to take our souls, so what will happen? And there is no time, Prophet (s) predicted in the hadith. You go anywhere today in the Arab countries, especially where Prophet (s) mentioned "jazeeratu 'l-`arab"—Persian Gulf States, Bilaad al-Hijaaz, Najd—where they are building higher than the Ka`aba! In the time of the Ottomans, the Turkish dynasty built structures with small domes and they made sure not to build them higher than the Ka`aba, out of respect. Today that is not the case.
I am not saying just anything, I am quoting evidence from the hadith of Prophet (s). What are we waiting for to repent? O Muslims! Our duty is to repent, to be good individuals in the community, to be careful of this new trend of violence and terrorism. We have nothing to do with it. We have to declare it openly! We don’t want Ahlu 's-Sunnah and the Muslim community to be under investigation. We want to say, we will not cover anyone. Whoever does something wrong, it’s their problem. We are peace-loving people. We carry flowers with us, we don’t carry explosives! Anyone who likes to come to us will get sweets and candies.
May Allah (swt) forgive and bless all of us. May Allah keep this and other masaajid growing.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, w 'as-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi ta`ala wa barakaatuh.
Copyright 2016 Sufilive