What are the origins of the Christmas celebration? How do they relate to Jesus Christ? What do they teach us about human tendencies and fallibilities? How can we learn from this the religious path of moderation that shuns extremism on both ends? This talk (khutbah) attempts to shed light on these important questions.
Ali Albarghouthi – Jesus, Christmas, And Religious Moderation
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the excessiveness of the current generation of Muslims who affirm the message of Isa as a prophet and celebrating the birth of the sun as a prophet. They stress the importance of protecting people's memory and not giving too many false assumptions, as small mistakes can lead to loss of their sense of belonging. The speakers also emphasize the importance of finding one's stance in order to avoid confusion and negative reactions, and stress the need to hold onto the truth until the day of Judgment.
AI: Summary ©
Hi,
please brothers make as much space as you can if you can just move forward
Do not leave empty spaces. I think we have a lot of others today so shall fill as many empty spaces as you can.
In Alhamdulillah Hina Ahmed who want to stay in who want to start futile when I mean surely unforeseen our see Dr. Molina Maja de la la Molina la manga you live
in LA LA LA sharika Mohammed Abu Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
in hiren howdy tikki tabula. Tada Oh, hi Ron. Howdy howdy Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
Amorim of data to Hakuna Matata Hakuna Matata Hakuna Matata Allah
all praise and thanks belong to Allah the Most High we thank him and we seek is to help and aid and we ask him that he forgives us and we seek our refuge his refuge from the evil of ourselves and the sins that we commit. Indeed whomsoever Allah guides, no one can lead astray, and whomsoever Allah leads astray, no one can guide neighbor witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah alone, and that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is his slave and messenger. That best speech is the book of Allah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the worst of religious matters are the innovated ones. And every religious innovation is a bit
on every bit of eyes. misguidance and every misguidance will be in Hellfire and bad.
Humans have a tendency. And this tendency they have is to exaggerate.
All of us except those that Allah has blessed them have that tendency and when they love, they love excessively. They have the potential to love excessively. And when they hate they have the potential to hate excessively.
And that would allow another Sahabi said he'll book and he shake your knee while you swim. He says your love for something.
blinds and deafens has the potential to blind and deaf and how is that so because you and you love something so much. Your ally wouldn't see yourself to love it so much. You will not be able to see its faults and its imperfections.
You will not be able to hear anything about what's wrong with it. You will not believe it, to your blind to it you are deaf to it.
So there is that tendency that humans have to excessively love and to excessively hate. And when humans take heroes, models and examples. They have that tendency to exaggerate in their love and to attach perfection to them.
Why do we attach perfection to them? Allah knows best because our hearts are attached to perfection. And that attachment is really an essence and attachment to the truly perfect. Allah subhanho wa Taala Can we do this man he was the one who's perfect and names and attributes the hearts are naturally attracted to the most perfect who Allahu is Allah subhanho wa Taala. But when they deviate, and they start loving something else, they still like to find perfection in that thing, because they always we always seek it. That's like, what, that's why we like the most beautiful thing, the most courageous person, the most generous person because we like perfection. So when we
start deviating to going away from Allah subhana wa tada concentrating on his creation, we start attaching perfection to it. And if reality is not sufficient to support that perfection, we invent stories
to support our concept of perfection.
And as this happens with us individually in our secular life, in our families, it happens also religiously. And this season that we're in is a prime example of that excessiveness that we are talking about. Because when people started loving Isa, and he said, I'm Jesus, son of Maddie, and he said, I'm way too much. They raised him above the level that Allah subhana wa Taala has given him and you'd find among the groups that inhabit this earth, Allah has guided the Muslims to the middle path to the middle path about the belief in Asia alehissalaam. So it's not going to one extreme, where that extreme, rejects Isa
and rejects his message, and even says unspeakable things about him, and about his mother about the law. And we believe, you know, well, very well the status of reality is that he is one of the oil as men of Rousseau, they're also the messengers who are of strong resolve, and his mother rhodiola, who is the best woman by the testimony of Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam, the best woman that Allah created is Maria ignitor imraan, and the gspca unspeakable things about her Subhan Allah and you go to the opposite, and in the opposite, you find people ascribing divinity to a sub nobody alehissalaam between these two extremes and they are extremes you find the Muslims who affirm the
status of very Sally Sam as a prophet of Allah subhana wa Taala, but they stay away from raising him to the level of Allah subhanaw taala or demoting him to the level of a liar or worse.
And as Allah Subhana who dies, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when he was speaking about Moosa and he said, no olavi musalman come we are closer to Moosa are more worthy of Moosa. So we should think of alayhis salaam in the same way and manner we are closer to a Sally salon we are more worthy of a Sally Sue them and we have to extract his legacy, his teachings, his reputation, from both extreme positions, we have to extract it
as a side note, to tell you of the tasks that we have in front of us
that celebration that is associated with the birth of very Salli Salaam, what are its origins, its origins are the celebrations of the winter winter solstice. That is the time that is the day when night is longest, and day is shortest, and predating Christianity, people use to venerate and respect and celebrate that day. Why? Because it's the beginning of the end of winter, the beginning of the end of winter, because the days and nights that are gonna come after the Knights are gonna shortens and the days are gonna lengthen. So they are anticipating the end of winter. So they used to celebrate that day. And those who believed in the sun god would believe that the sun god would be
born on that day.
They were that is a time of birth and rebirth of the gods. So many groups in the Roman Empire used to actually believe this thing that a God of theirs should be celebrated sacrifice to or he's going to be born on December or around December 25. And they will celebrate that day specifically for that that was a celebration in the Roman Empire. When Christianity came. The church had no idea when Saddam was born. They had no idea about the year and they didn't had no idea about the day and the month.
So they started actually going around, trying to decide what day in one month. And because people are celebrating December 25, and they wanted to switch them from one celebration to the other, they decided to make a December 25.
That is the story of it.
And unfortunately, that day is a day of an immoral celebration. It's actually a day worth a worth practicing in morality, debauchery, all types of sins that you can think about. They were doing it on that day, that is now the day, a day of schilke a day of a morality that is now associated with Easter and Easter. So it is our responsibility to salvage him to rescue race and his legacy from such a day not to participate in it but to rescue him. And in fact, some Christians group have done that, the Puritans when they established colonies, and what is now North America when they establish colonies, the outcome of the celebration of Christmas. Anyone who had celebrated would be fine,
because they understood it to be an innovation. unbiblical has no basis in the Bible. So if they are doing that, if some questions are doing that, we have to say no, Olivia, Isa minko We are the ones who have to do this Dre Sally set up more than you do.
And Allah subhanho wa Taala exonerates a Sally Salaam in the Koran.
We've got a La Jolla, he said pneumonia and totally nasty. Mia Illa Haney mean dooney la Cala suparna, camellia Cooley and akula Melissa Lee, we have a call to
ace on the last day and this is what we have to share with people.
Yeah, Isa, did you tell people worship Me and my mother instead of Allah? Allah is asking him in front of everyone, because that is evidence, this is witness
in front of everyone who did otherwise,
then you do that and he will say Glory be to You. It is not for me to say something like that. I have no right to say something like that. If I have said it, you would have known it. And here it is Salaam is bringing the witness of who of Allah subhanho wa Taala. Because if a person is lying, we will not bring a lot as a witness. Because Allah will speak the truth. And it will say you lied. Yes, you did. You lie. No you did or you didn't. But I am the one who knows that Allah knows everything. He says, yeah Allah you are my witness,
and knew
alehissalaam
when on the Day of Judgment,
will Allah who will ask him, how did you convey the message? He says, yes, it is a will testify who will support your claim, Allah knows, but he wants to make this manifests and clear and public or support your claim. So a lot so he said, My people that people will reject say, No, he never came to us. No, he never said this. They will deny him. He says now well, who else do you have as a witness? He says, Oh my god, Mohammed Salah Allah, Allah you it was setting up the Mohammed, but we did not see him. How do we know? We know because the prophets a lot excellent came and told us from Allah that He did. And we believed in that and we believe in the words of Allah and we testify. That is
why Allah subhana wa tada says, Look at vatika Jana Kumamoto talita, kulu Shahada on us. And so we have made you a righteous middle nation, so that you will be witnesses
among humanity,
and only the old man that is worse that can be a witness. Why is that?
Because the old mother is worse at first of all, is the one that you can trust in judgment.
Who do you trust in the world? You go to a liar, and you trust them in judgment? Do you go a foolish person and ask him for his opinion? Or would you go to a truthful, wise person who fears Allah subhanaw taala.
That is a person that is a person or this is the owner that you can trust in judgment. So this is the first reason because they are upright, we are supposed to be upright in ourselves, may Allah make us so
the second reason is because that oma has revealed has received guidance from Allah subhanaw taala. So it's knows what is right and what is wrong.
And the third reason is because it is standing in the middle. It knows both extremes, can see the extreme that is on the right and the extreme that is on the left, and can judge each one of them as an extreme.
And let me tell you, brothers and sisters, that these two extremes that exist on the right and on the left opposite of each other, are actually tied together.
Each one of them leads up to the other, each one of them causes the other.
And each one of them is a human reaction. Why would an extreme on the one hand cause the extreme on the other hand, because human nature is not equipped to handle any of those extremes? That's not its nature. That is suppose a person for instance, believe x person as divine, but when you start researching what that person is doing, what that person has said, their life, you will find that history does not support that claim. Your mind does not accept that they are divine. So what what do you end up doing, you end up rejecting religion altogether, because they say all of it is false, all of it is alive.
Or if you take the other extreme, and you reject religion, and you start living a life like that, you will find in yourself and your family and your society, a lot of discomfort, a lot of tension, a lot of problems. And you will become so irritated with people around you who are not religious. So you become religious, but you become religious, not moderately, you become religious excessively as a reaction to that other extreme. It's only those whom Allah had favored and blessed that they can seek that middle route. And that middle route is only found in Islam in the book of Allah and the Sunnah of the messenger. So a lot of you it was said to them, but we even Muslims, can be plagued by
that disease.
And even more we thought it
all the time who said yellowfin tuna
is two types of people are going to perish are going to perish. When it comes to me, two types of people, more frequent, frequent people, the
two types of people will perish when it comes to me, one who excessively will love me and one who will excessively hate me.
Both of them will be destroyed. How is that so because there are people they existed, they still some of them minority still exist still today, who had hated
us so much that they made him a catheter.
So he said this person has disbelieve and exited from Islam.
And on the opposite side, you have people who have loved and even want to be totally broke the law and was so much that they made him an infallible mousumi man.
And as an infallible Imam, he can only speak the truth he and specific children of his.
So this they have made a cornerstone of Islam if you believe in that you are Muslim, if you do not believe in it, then you're not Muslim.
So this is an excessive
love of it you cannot be thought of as an excessive hate of non economic thought and who was guided to the middle path.
And the sooner Gemma were guided to the middle path where they recognize and even not be thought of as among the best of the companions of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam and they recognize that the companions of Muhammad are the best or the best of this oma at the same time. They're human. And it's possible for them to commit commit small mistakes, but these small mistakes, tiny mistakes compared to the magnitude of goodness that they have done, are almost like nothing so they don't print them out divine. They are not infallible they can make mistakes. At the same time. They know that Allah subhanho wa Taala had loved them so much, that these things are almost like nothing we
don't imitate them if they have done or they have chosen something that is wrong, but we know that Allah had forgiven
as Allah Subhana Allah as the messenger sallallahu Sallam says about the people of La la la vida and even Machito
perhaps Allah subhanaw taala looked at the people of the barrel of bread and he said, Do whatever you wish I had forgiven you. Doesn't mean that they are infallible or muscle mean No. But means what Allah subhana wa tada loved them and knows that they will die on Islam knows that they are righteous and knows that what they have done in that battle during that time is so precious that a loss of data had forgiven their sense.
So we have to seek this middle path in our religion not to love excessively and not to hate excessively, and to treat the prophets of Allah subhana wa Taala with respect appropriately, not raising them beyond their level or demoting them beyond that level. A call only Heather was the only one of them
la mina Hamden Kathy Rhonda, even Mubarak and Fie also lives in the Monaro Sunni Mohammed Juana and he was he was a MOBA
also lies a lot he was in them recognize that as previous nations had that tendency we also have that tendency in us we're after all human.
And he had predicted and he says that they were a synonym and cannot publikum shibir on Bishop Baron whether you're on Viva La
Colonia who don't know sobre su de la casa man, Gianni
Prophet said you're going to follow the footsteps, the patterns of the people who are before you inch by inch.
You're going to follow their pattern would they have done inch by inch, even if they were to enter them hole of a lizard, you can attempt to enter the same thing. That is excessive imitation. That is excessive imitation. So that they said oh prophet of Allah, you're talking about the Jews and the Christian he says Who else? Who else am I talking about? So the Prophet predicted that we are going to do something like that we are going to imitate them and imitate them excessively like an excessive lead on them. So we have that image. So we have to be aware of that disease.
And for that the prophets of Allah hottie while he was sending had warned us, he says la Rooney, Camerata nosara Santa Maria kulula de la hora Sula, it says, Do not praise me like the Christians that braised a sub No, Maria, but say, Abdullah, what a pseudo the slave of Allah and His Messenger do not do what they've done.
And in another Hadith
where someone came to the messengers of Allah, Hollywood, he was telling them and he said, Yeah, Muhammad. Yeah. So he didn't know what to say. He didn't know.
He said, Mohammed, our master, son of our master, our best one of our best, so he said, some Alon, he was sell them and in his mind, he is sensitive
to that type of phrase and where it can lead, he said, Yeah, you know, it can be tough.
For any level he wanted to come and Xena Tina De Anza Daniella what I can find out Mohammad Abdullah Abdullah sudo.
He says people possess and adhere to the taqwa of Allah, and do not be tempted by the time
I do not like for you to raise me to levels above the levels that Allah had given me. I am Mohammed son of Abdullah, I am the slave of Allah and His messenger. That is that these are the prophets of Allah.
Yet, despite all of that, we find that when it comes to the Prophet salallahu salam, some of us do go to excessive or too extreme on both ends. On the one end, like the one that they have, what would they have done with a Sally salon? Unfortunately, we have done with Mohammed's a lot he was selling because some of us believed or started to raise him to divine levels he's created from pure light, different than anything else that humans were created from. Or, for instance, someone was some people were saying all of this humanity was created, the purpose is for us a lot he was setting them and that is not true. That is not true, or that the Prophet sallallahu Sallam knows the unseen knows
that life.
All of these things are excessive qualities.
But some of them only belong to Allah subhanho wa Taala. So we have to be aware, not to compromise, the message of Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam in the name of his love as others have compromised the message of Sally salon in the name of his love. And do we think that when we meet the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he will love that we have said that he knows the unseen
his message that he sacrificed his life for gave his life for would he be happy to see that we have compromised it
just because we are over praised it as he said, he will hate it and denounce it and declare declare himself innocent of it. So when Mohammed Salalah Are you it was him saying, I cannot help you if you say something like that, and associate me with Allah subhanaw taala and brings me to the same level I will not be able to help you. So we have to take a lesson from what other nations have done so that we do not repeat that same mistake.
On the other extreme, there is that extreme of staying away from the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu Sallam in his teachings, as if he did not come as if he did not preach as if he did not guide as if he did not leave us on the white plain path that will take us to Allah subhanho wa Taala didn't to instruct and guide. So if he did say something, why aren't we implementing it? Why are we following it? So shall we reject the message of the message of Mohammed salatu salam, as the message of Raisa was altered and abandoned, you look at the message of a Saudi so that it was a message of what our spirituality of denouncing or renouncing or staying away from the temptations of this dunya
you look at his suppose a birthday, it is the most or one of the most materialistic occasions around? How if you think of a Sally said, I'm coming back on that day, would he be doing what most people are doing on that day,
engage in the middle of this world or be doing something else. So there is a compromise of that message, and a sense of rejection of that message. So our love for Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is not just lip service, we're saying we love Him, we love Him, we love him. We write poems about him, we think about it and then we stop there. Our love for Mohammed Salah lo Adi it was cinema is one that actually should be seen in action that we love Him that we follow his path. Even if others might not understand it. Others might not like it as long as it is the middle path. And he's the little audio it was cinema was eager to keep the middle path.
So even when people want it to go to excessive ends, why the three who came to the prophet SAW you send them to the house. And they asked about the worship of Mohammed Ali cinema. How much does he pray? How much does he fast? How much does he read the Quran and all of that. So after they finished it can
be found it as if it's not as much as they thought it would be. So one of them said for any
final Sunday, well, one of them said I will never replace sleep, I will pray throughout the night.
And another person says Oh, I know.
I will fast everyday and never break my fast. And the other person says Well, what do you need that I will never marry?
So that is excessive. How they will know it's excessive, because it's not the signal of the messengers. Allow yourself to do any of these things. That's why when he came, he was upset with them. He wasn't happy. He's a martial law. They are very religious and very committed. Why wasn't he happy? Because if they continue on that path, they will leave it ultimately they will burn out. Their nature cannot take it.
So it's it's an effective path, like the path of abandoning religion is a destructive path. It will leave you in extreme discomfort. So he says
I do not do that I marry a woman and a fast and I also do not fast and I pray and sleep during the night Come and rebound soon the deeper they send me the one who leaves or dislikes my son Noah is not or does not belong to me.
So how do we know what to do in this life? We know what through what Allah subhana wa Taala has revealed through the son of his messengers of Allah, Allah when he was sitting them and let us brothers and sisters prepare ourselves to be witnesses shuhada not imitators. The imitator will do whatever other people are doing. So let us not imitate others, especially when we know the origin of what they're doing.
And we should feel for Danny Sullivan, his legacy that they have given him such a day, among the worst days that he could have picked for his celebration of his birth was that day and they've given him that day. So we should kill for the message of Lisa Ali Salama tell people that is this is it's considerably inappropriate.
And become witnesses who know the truth and to report this truth to people and be aware or be steadfast on it. That this is what's given by Allah subhana wa Taala It doesn't matter if people are going to appreciate or not going to follow it or not we will hold on to it until we meet Allah subhana wa Taala until me Allah we continue to hold on to this truth until we have material.
So we ask Allah subhana wa Taala to make us of those who hold on to the truth until Allah takes their lives. Well make us of those who hold on to the truth until we meet you. You know Allah make us of those who hold on hold to the truth until we meet you or lawmakers of those who are on this earth. Allah make us of those who are Shahada on this earth? Well I do not make us of those who are Shahada on this
Do not make use of those who blindly imitate others. Yala. Do not make use of those who blindly imitate others, or lie do not make use of those who blindly imitate others. Yala, do not make use of those who follow the path of those who preceded them in an error, do not make use of those who follow the path of those who preceded them in error, and make use of that those who follow the path of your profits and
send them and his companions and those who follow them till the Day of Judgment. Yeah, we asked you for your forgiveness for ourselves and our families and all of the Muslims. Allah Who asked you for you forgiveness and we seek your refuge from your wrath and anger. Allah Who asked you for heaven and everything that brings us near to it and we seek your refuge from Hellfire and everything that brings us near to it.
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