Abdullah Oduro – Jummah Khutbah 05-04-2024
AI: Summary ©
The importance of knowing the power of Islam, including predestination, is discussed. The importance of the "we" in power is also emphasized, and the importance of listening to the word on principle is emphasized. The importance of gratitude and satire during the night is also emphasized, along with laying hands on spiritual teachings and witnessing one's weaknesses and mistakes to increase one's love for Allah. It is ingrained in our culture and is a blessing for the creator.
AI: Summary ©
Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomsoever
Allah allows
to be led astray, none can guide aright.
And I bear witness that there is no
one worthy of worship except Allahu Ta'ala,
the exalted, and that Muhammad, peace and blessings
be upon him, is his last messenger and
servant.
All you who believe, be mindful of Allah
and die not except in a state of
submission to him alone.
Oh, humanity, be mindful of Allah who created
you from a single soul and from that
created his mate and from that scatters many
men and women. Oh, humanity,
Be mindful of Allah and do not cut
off relations with your relatives.
Indeed, Allah is a raqeeb.
He monitor over you. Oh, humanity be mindful
of Allah and speak the truth in order
for him to accept you of your deeds
and forgive us of our shortcomings.
And whoever obeys Allah and his messenger
has indeed achieved the greatest achievements. As to
what follows, indeed, the best speech is the
book of Allah
and the best guidance is that of Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him. And of
the worst affairs in our doctrinal system of
Islam are the newly invented ones. Ones. For
every newly invented affair in this situation is
an innovation,
and for every innovation is a form of
going astray, and for every form of going
astray is in the fire of *.
Each and every one of us has heard
this statement, and we probably even know what
it means
if we don't understand Arabic.
It's the statement that is mentioned upon hearing
or reading or encountering
the departing
of the soul or the individual
of this earth when someone dies. As Ibn
Uqayim mentions death is mofaraka
turruhi
mineljesed.
It is when the soul leaves the body.
The prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, said that
there is a specific sign when the soul
leaves the body that their eyes will flip,
which is a sign that their soul has
that has left.
The sign of the believer is that their
body their soul will leave their body like
a
a water drop from the faucet,
and it will smell as mist. But then
the one that is the disbeliever, the one
that voluntarily disbelieves in
Allah, voluntarily,
knowing the truth and denying it, it will
leave as though
the the body as a thorn coming out
of wet
wool.
And
it will be a bad smell. All of
this.
We know that
insha'allah, one of our brothers that has passed
away,
doctor Ahmed Shaquille,
He's
in
he's one of the founders of the Masjid
Masjid al Rahman down the street,
Colleyville Masjid has passed away, and we know
that that is with the other of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
It is what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has
predestined,
and it is another means of Allah conditioning
us
internally. Those of you may not know him,
but at the moment when I mentioned he
passed away, immediately some of you are thinking
of someone that passed away in your lifetime.
And you remember your emotions.
They may be renewed.
You're thinking about yourself, when will I go?
I just got my results from my physician.
I need to work on my health.
Whether it's sleep, diet,
I need to work on it.
Some of us know
the reality of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's power
and his
his ability.
And we know that Allah
knowledge
is Qadr,
predestination.
If you notice,
the same three letters,
qaf,dal,
ra
which have similar meanings.
We know that Qadr is predestination.
Qudra is ability.
The scholars, Alayhi Mus Salam,
Rahim Ullahu Ta'ala,
when they speak of this glorious, glorious
moment
that many of us
are longing
for, yearning for,
it is that night,
what is could be translated of power,
or night of predestination,
or night of decree.
All of those, Yesul, they're all correct.
There is a chapter dedicated to this night,
and the night is.
The night of power, decree, knowledge, etcetera.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the
Quran,
Verily, we revealed it
in the night of power or decree.
Allah
revealed the Quran
to Angel Jibril, which revealed it to the
prophet
wa sallam. And scholars mentioned in Laylatul Qadr,
he recited the whole Quran to him in
his night and in his last year twice.
Some scholars mentioned that
means means something that is tight or confined.
When Allah
says, and for mankind,
if Allah was to test them and restrict
his provisions.
My lord has debased me. My lord didn't
give me that job. My lord didn't give
me what I wanted. He's disgraced me. He's
debased me. Why am I calling on this
lord? He's
restricted his provisions for you, qadr.
Or taqdir
means something that has honor
or something that is revered.
All of those are present. When speaking about
the restriction,
the prophet
mentioned on the night of Qadr,
the night of power or the night of
restriction,
that the angels will fill the horizons
so much so that one four fingers you
cannot place 4 fingers in the atmosphere,
will be full of angels.
Full of angels.
That is.
So when looking at this, Allah
has mentioned this to be a blessed night.
Reveal the Quran in
And what will cause you to know
How will you know?
That the night of power decree is better
than
1000 months, over 80 years.
Meaning, that what ever act of worship you
do in that night
is better than
80 plus years of worship. If you were
to pray to Hajduk that night, it's better
than praying to Hajdu 80 8 pray 80
plus years.
He didn't say, yeah.
He didn't say equals.
He's saying it's better than.
Better than.
So
understanding the power of this power of this
decree,
of this virtuous knight is important for us.
And this reminds
us that Allah
is in ultimate control.
He does what he wills, and he chooses
what he
Muslims should congregate to the best of their
ability. And there's many
benefits behind this.
Getting to know Allah
by listening to the word on Jum'ah.
This is the day of the week.
Getting to know your community,
leaving off the dunya your work, your television,
whatever it is, for something much loftier.
That is virtuous.
A chapter devoted to that, Suratul Jumah, a
day of the week, a month of the
year,
the month that the Quran was revealed.
Shahu Ramadan
Quran,
the month of Ramadan
in which the Quran was revealed.
The 9th month of the lunar calendar, the
Islamic calendar. The best night of the best
10 days
of the year.
The best 10 days of the year, some
would argue, is
Hajj, the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.
And some would argue that when Allah says,
when
he says by the fajr, the the
dawn,
by the 10 nights. Some would argue that
it is the first 10,
days of the rilejha.
We have the best 10 nights of the
year being
what? Ir Tikaf.
The 10 days the last 10 days of
Ramadan, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was
known to make itikaf in the first 10
nights
of the first 10 nights of Ramadan.
Then angel Jibreel told him
a Ammek. So the prophet went and fasted
the next 10 days.
The middle 10 days, Jibril came to him
and said,
I'm Ammek.
Verily, what you are requesting is in front
of you. That's when he knew it was
the last 10 days so he would stay
in the Masjid, stationary
in the Masjid
to remember Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, separate
from his wives and his families,
to be in the masjid, to have undivided
attention. And there are so many lessons in
attention. And there are so many lessons in
Ir Tikav,
especially
in our day and age.
That is this was not present. The telephone
was not present during the time of the
prophet
where you can literally, with one finger, scroll
for 16 hours
and distract yourself
from life,
from your purpose.
So the means of being stationary in the
masjid
is highly recommended in our day and age.
Scholars even mention if one was to be
stationary from one salah to the next salah,
this is good.
Or for one day or a couple of
hours, having the intention
to detach
is very important for the human being.
We are seeing many apps now that speak
about meditation,
gratefulness,
to have a gratitude journal.
All of this is
ingrained
in our faith.
At least 5 times a day, there is
a form of detachment.
There is the importance of being grateful
to where Allah equates gratefulness
with uncountable blessings
Allah says,
and your lord proclaimed that if you were
to be thankful,
He doesn't mention how many blessings. He leaves
it blank to show you the importance of
gratitude. All of this is ingrained in our
religion.
When seeing, SubhanAllah,
that we as Muslims
take it upon ourselves to detach at least
5 times a day is a huge opportunity
to take advantage of that which benefits us,
particularly
in this night of Laila Al Qadr.
Now Laylat Al Qadr is not known which
night it particularly is, but it is definitely
in the last 10 days or last 10
nights. The prophet
even mentioned that the individual
should
look for it.
They should look for it, search for it
in the last 10.
The last 10
nights of Ramadan.
Searching for it is continuously being in
associates the nighttime with many virtuous things.
When Allah
read in the name of your lord, it
was the night
time. When Allah
mentions, and during the night, wake up and
pray.
Yeah.
Allah told the one the prophet, all you
covered in garments. Umil
layla.
Stand at the nighttime.
When the prophet was
going for hijrah,
the nighttime.
The prophet
when he entered
Medina, what did he tell the people? What
did he tell the people?
Ashush Salam.
Spread this spread the,
glad tidings or salutations, saying
or being good to people.
And feed the poor.
And pray at the night time when people
are sleeping.
You will enter heaven in a peaceful
Allahu
Adam. And there is so much divine wisdom
in that. To where we do just do
not rely
on 1 night.
To where we try our best to be
our best
at least for 10 nights.
At least.
This is such a beautiful opportunity
that this night of Leila Talqadr
is better than 80 plus months and for
us to embark on it to the best
of our ability.
Allah
says
that the angels
will descend
by his permission.
And the angel Jibril the angels and the
angel Jibril
will come down by his permission,
and they will know
every situation.
And scholars mentioned what is predestined for the
following year will be revealed at this night.
Allah
is in the chapter of
Allah says, we have the clear book,
verily we have revealed
this book
and the
blessed night.
And we are those that will be the
warmers.
In it, every situation
will be related.
For
a rough translation,
the scholars mentioned this night is the night
of Qadr
because what will be predestined for the following
year will be shown that night, not shown
to Allah
but revealed to the angels, and Allah
knows
best.
What is important for us, brothers and sisters,
just as we
may try
and with we this is be honest.
We may try to feel the spiritual euphoric
feelings
of this night, but it may just not
be there.
It may just not be there.
Sometimes, when we're so indulged with work, school,
thinking about work, thinking about school, thinking about
our relatives,
proper perspective.
It will put things in proper perspective.
And there are 2 particular wings
that I will mention
that if we use these wings, it will
allow us to fly in ways in a
way of humility.
So understanding
the importance of Laylatul Qadr,
Allah has revealed this whole chapter regarding this,
that it is a virtuous night and qadr
can have numerous meanings, but all of them
are virtuous and they all coincide with each
other, which shows the importance
of trying our best be of those of
worship. And this night can particularly be any
night of these last 10 nights.
The nighttime is particularly after Maghrib
till the dawn of Fajr, till dusk,
till when the sun rises. That's the nighttime.
So if it's after if it's
you're praying Isha, you pray TahaJu. Great job.
If you don't pray to Haggou or or
Torah Way, if you don't pray Torah Way,
at least be at home reading the musaf.
When you would watch a television show, even
an Islamic show, think, how can I step
it up a notch from watching the Islamic
show? Let me go and read the chapter
of Yusuf.
Let me go and read go to the
index of the Quran,
look at Moses, and just read all the
stories of Moses.
Let me look in the mirror.
Let me look in the mirror by myself
and be totally honest with myself.
Brothers and sisters, when is the last time
keep it real with me or keep it
real with yourself.
When's the last time
you've looked in the mirror
and you just let it all out?
You were just honest with yourself
to where people are knocking on the door.
What's wrong? Why are you crying?
When's the last time you've done that?
Laylatul Qadr, the month of Ramadan.
Laylat al
Qadr, best time to do that, to dig
deep and to be honest with yourself and
use the two wings of humility. If that's
difficult, brothers and sisters,
I totally understand.
But the 2 wings of humility, the 2
wings that Ibn al Qayyim mentioned is so
beautiful.
He said,
He said, verily those that are knowledgeable,
those are the ones that have knowledge of
life,
and they know how the religion and life
are intertwined with each other. So when they
speak, it's always in consideration
of their presence in front of Allah
So they said there's 2 things that they
the 2 wings. The first one
is Musa Hadatul Mina.
It is witnessing
the Mina.
Mina
means
the
blessings that have been bestowed upon you,
the favors that Allah has given you.
You can even think about a favor that
someone has given you,
but know that that person wouldn't have been
able to unless
Allah has given it to
them. So start proximal. Start with the people
that are around you.
What you like about this person?
What you dislike about that person? And it's
an opportunity for you to forgive them
or to be good to them.
Recognizing
the blessings,
that's the first wing. The second wing is
and approaching
the
deficiencies
in your self and in your actions. These
two things.
And what's so beautiful about this
is that none of it the only thing
that is attributed to you
are the faults that you have.
And looking at your faults, as we mentioned
before, is one of the strongest
means
to obtain sincerity of God, to be sincere
towards Allah. That's what I talked about. Look
in the mirror and look at your mistakes.
Count your mistakes. Count your blessings. And you
know what? After you do that, it's not
enough.
It's not enough,
and that's fine. You know why? Because Al
Aileen knows.
He knows that you have more than those
5 that you thought about at that moment.
He knows that you made an effort
to get to 4 and then you stopped.
And you really made an effort, and you
remember that 5th thing that you said to
your wife 2 years ago, and it hurt
her feelings, or your mother, and it hurt
her feelings.
You remember now.
Allah knows that there's 50,000.
He knows that there's many more,
but he knows and appreciate the efforts.
That's what he appreciates.
So those two wings,
recognizing the blessings
and also being aware of your sins
in yourself
and in your actions. You notice how he
makes this this tafreq, this differentiation.
That you're aware of the
the deficiency in yourself.
Meaning,
your desires,
your shahawats,
those things that will cause you to go
online and look at what you know you
shouldn't be looking at.
Or saying something badly about a person that
you know you shouldn't be saying in front
of your children,
in front of Allah.
But the actions are the things that you
actually do. So joining those 2 together,
you think about that and you ponder over
that, and you use that as a means
to debase yourself. Yes.
To debase yourself in front of Allah.
If not now, when?
And I'm saying now because you're seeing people
all over the world, particularly our brothers and
sisters in Gaza.
All over the world, you don't know when
your time will come. You never know. You
never know.
So the more that you have that Muhasaba,
holding yourself accountable
via
by looking at what Allah has given you
and looking at your deficiencies.
This is how you will fly with the
wings of humility. And even, okay, he goes
even deeper. He
says, SubhanAllah,
When you
recognize the blessings of god,
the blessings that he's given you
And, you know, when we say given you,
we automatically think of, he's given me this
phone. He's given me this job. He's given
me tangible things. This is great. He's giving
me my intellect. He's giving me the spirituality
to come here. This is even better.
What about what he's taken away from you
is a blessing as well?
What he has taken away from you that
you wanted so dearly
is a blessing
in disguise.
That's the blessing. What does that necessitate? Love.
That is how you can increase your love
of Allah.
When we may have doubts in something that
Allah has done, let's take a step back
and see what has he given me.
You know, our gratitude journal. What has he
given me?
What has he taken away that I still
haven't got over?
He is Al Alaim Al Hakim. I know
he knows better. I don't.
Let me take a step back, be patient,
and accept what has happened. And it's not
easy, but the fact that you're making the
intention to go through the process, that's what
Allah loves.
And then the second is to witness your
deficiencies.
When you witness your sins, your deficiencies, your
shortcomings,
your mistakes, you are human.
But when you witness them and you bring
them to life,
when you are alone
in the masjid,
it's
When you are alone in your room,
when you are alone looking at the mirror,
what does that necessitate? What will be the
fruits from that
that you would debase yourself in front of
Allah?
And then even goes even deeper. He says,
and your heart is broken,
and you feel deprived.
When is the last time that we have
felt deprived
without Allah's mercy?
Like, we feel, I am no one, and
I will get nowhere
unless I have this connection with Allah.
You know, yesterday, I felt that I was
the I I felt that I was the
source of that blessing.
It was Allah that was the source of
the blessing. When we think of that, that
process will make us of those that call
on
him in secret and in open. So remember
remember the blessings of Allah
and remember your sins. This is how we
can maintain this humility. May Allah
make us of those in these beautiful nights
to come, of those that use these wings
of humility and to allow us to fly
in this beautiful nights with many
means of forgiveness from Allah
and to increase us in this dunya, but
most importantly