Majed Mahmoud – Striving For Excellence

AI: Summary ©
The importance of showing excellence and honesty in every situation, not giving up on one's own success, and showing gratitude to others is emphasized. The need for testing one's capacity to face hardship and avoid negative outcomes is also emphasized. The importance of believing in oneself and faith in oneself is also emphasized. The tests of one's capacity to face hardship and receive reward are also discussed.
AI: Summary ©
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the
greatest, I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, I bear witness that there
is no god but Allah, I
bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah, Allah
is the greatest, Allah is the greatest,
I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah, I
bear witness that there is no god but
Allah, I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, I bear witness that there
is no god but Allah, I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah, I
bear witness that there is no god but
Allah, I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, I bear witness that there
is no god but Allah, I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah, I
bear witness that there is no god but
Allah, I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, I bear witness that there
is no god but Allah, I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah, I
bear witness that there is no god but
Allah, I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, I bear witness that there
is no god but Allah, I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah, I
bear witness that there is no god but
Allah, I bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, I bear witness that there
is no god but Allah, I bear witness
that there is no god but Allah, I
bear witness show
respect to Allah as much as Allah deserves
to be respected and do everything under the
sun do everything you can and the day
you die you die as Muslim that is
my ultimate goal that is my ultimate goal
that is the goal everyone should try to
achieve that is it to die as Muslim
If we do so, we have arrived, we
have succeeded.
May Allah make us of those who succeed.
Allah says, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا O you
who believe, اتقوا الله Once again, be conscious
of Allah.
Fear Allah.
Be aware of Allah.
Then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala commands us
to say the truth.
Say قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا Sincerity in your speech.
Sincerity in your actions and intentions.
If you are sincere and you are truthful,
what happens?
يُسْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ أَنْ يَتَقَبَّلْهَا Allah will accept
your good deeds.
وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ And will forgive the bad
deeds.
And you get the best of both worlds.
Just be honest with Allah.
Show Allah that you're trying.
Say the truth.
Be sincere.
And you'll get the best of both worlds.
Then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, وَمَنْ
يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهَ And whoever obeys Allah and
the Prophet of Allah ﷺ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا
عَظِيمًا Then you are the best of winners.
May Allah make us of those who are
among them.
يَا رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ Brothers and sisters, as we
go through our days and we watch the
news and it's a mix of difficulty and
ease, a moment of celebration such as the
one we heard about, the ceasefire, alhamdulillah.
In the midst of that announcement, you still
have these bombs that may fall on our
brothers and sisters in Gaza.
And may Allah grant justice to all our
brothers and sisters around the world.
أَمِيرَ بَالْعَالَمِينَ But regardless of what happens and
regardless of what is the breaking news, we
will always say one word which is alhamdulillah.
Nothing will change that.
Allah is the best.
Does it change?
If you see things not going very well,
will you not say Allah is the best?
If things are going great, is that only
when you say Allah is the best?
No, we say Allah is the best regardless
of our situation.
Alhamdulillah.
That is why the Prophet ﷺ, he taught
us when something good happens, saying alhamdulillah الَّذِي
بِنِعْمَتِهِ تَتِمُّ الصَّالِحَاتِ There's an addition.
Praise be to Allah, the one, good things
happen because of him.
And the hadith says, same hadith, and when
something of bad news he hears, what does
he say?
Same thing.
Alhamdulillah.
The addition, على كل حال, in every case.
So in every case, in every khutbah, in
every announcement, in every event, in every occasion,
alhamdulillah.
Why am I emphasizing on this?
Because I want to share with you inshallah
in this khutbah, three steps, bi-idhnillah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
If we hold tight to, we will be
able to overcome any hardship and any difficulty
in our lives.
If we hold tight to, you will not
just pass the test, you will come out
of it stronger than before, inshallah.
And every step is from Allah and the
Prophet ﷺ.
The first one, I hope I made it
clear, which is, the moment you go through
the difficulty, the moment you get a phone
call, may Allah protect you, ya Rabb.
You got laid off from work.
The moment you get a message or an
email, your child fell off the stairs.
The moment a car accident takes place, you're
at the red light, you're fully stopped, someone
hits you from the back.
The moment the calamity strikes, step number one,
let Allah's name be on your tongue.
That's one.
If you truly want to pass that difficulty
that you have, the calamity you're facing, let
the first thing that comes from your mouth,
the first step is the name of Allah.
And the Prophet ﷺ, he told us in
a beautiful hadith, when you ever face a
calamity, say, إِنَّ لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّ عِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ To
Allah we belong, and to Allah we shall
return.
That is to be said at a musibah.
To know that I'm here for a period
of time, then I'm going back.
This entire life, if I were to make
a very simplistic example, it's like a lease.
We're all like here on earth as a
lease.
Tenants, this is a rental property.
Even if you own the house, you're a
tenant for a period of time, your children
will take over, your grandkids will take over.
And that place you're in today, someone was
in it yesterday, and you're gonna move on.
So when you remember that you're here for
a short period of time, it eases the
pain just a bit, and makes you keep
your eyes on the prize in akhirah.
That is why Umm Salama, may Allah be
pleased by her, she says in an authentic
hadith, when my husband Abu Salama died, and
we have to appreciate the relationship.
Why?
Abu Salama and Umm Salama were among the
first ones to emigrate from Mecca to Medina,
Allahu Akbar.
Amazing couple.
One of the most righteous men in all
of Medina, Abu Salama, he died.
And when he died, what did Umm Salama
say?
I remembered the command of the Prophet, salallahu
alayhi wa sallam.
I remember to say the dua.
The dua has three parts, and this falls
under the first step, which is remember Allah
at the time of the calamity.
She said, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam
taught us to say, إِنَّ لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّ لَيْهِ
رَاجِعُونَ To Allah we belong, and to Allah
we shall return.
Then he told us to say, اللَّهُمَّ أَجُرْنِي
فِي مُصِيبَتِي اللَّهُمَّ أَجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي O Allah,
reward me for the pain.
Ya Allah, I'm struggling.
Ya Allah, this is painful.
So let that pain be a source of
income of hasanat.
And number three, وَأَخْلِفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا And
give me something better than the calamity I
experienced.
Substitute me with something better than what I
have lost.
So Umm Salama says, I went ahead and
said it, Allahu Akbar, a great mu'min and
believer.
Her husband passed away, a great man.
Allah, the remembrance of Allah is my step
one.
So she said, I said, To Allah we
belong, and to Allah we shall return.
She said, I said the second one, اللَّهُمَّ
أَجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي Ya Allah, reward me for
the pain.
But she said, I can't say the third
one.
Third one, tough.
Third one, give me something better than what
I have lost.
It's against my logic.
She said, and who is better than Abu
Salama?
What in the dunya, not even has to
be a husband.
What in the dunya can Allah give me
that is better than Abu Salama?
But she said, her iman pushed.
Logic may not kick in.
Who is it?
What will happen?
Doesn't matter, trust Allah.
He can do it.
So she said, I pushed myself and I
said the third one.
Oh Allah, give me something better than what
I have lost.
Not too long after that dua, who comes?
A sahabi.
Knocks on the door of Abu Salama in
authentic hadith, and he tells her, I'm coming
on behalf of someone.
Excuse me?
I'm coming on behalf of someone who's asking
your hand in marriage.
Who is the one proposing to her?
The Rasul sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam proposes to Umm
Salama.
How do you think she felt?
She cried, she fell on the ground, frustration.
Alhamdulillah, the one who fulfills his promises.
Then she says at the end of the
hadith, لقد أبدلني.
Indeed, Allah has given me someone better than
Abu Salama, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
That is why Umm Salama is our mother,
Ummul Mu'mineen.
So the moment the calamity strikes, let the
first thing that comes from your mouth is
the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala.
A dua like the one I shared or
Alhamdulillah or any dhikr Allah's mentioned.
أَلَىٰ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبِ Allah says with
the remembrance of Allah, the hearts feel at
rest.
May Allah put our hearts at rest.
يا رب العالمين.
The second step the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam
teaches us is that when the calamity strikes,
you have to full-heartedly believe there's good
in it.
How?
I don't know.
When will you see it?
Allah knows.
But you have to truly believe there's khair
in it.
Even if everything tells you otherwise.
I'm at the red light going to Jum
'ah.
Someone hits me in the back.
That's khair?
I'm going to go teach someone a halaqah,
a lecture.
I sprain my ankle at the stairs.
Is it khair that now someone who is
innocent gets slandered in the community?
How is that khair?
Wallahi it's khair.
Because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said so.
He says عَجَبًا بِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ Amazing is the
state of the believer.
Now, be careful.
Whatever I said, that it's good, it's always
khair, there's good in it, it's only for
the believer.
You cannot go and copy-paste this to
anyone in the world.
No, no, no.
The Prophet told us, وَلَيْسَ ذَكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا
لِلْمُؤْمِنِ The statement, it's all good.
You heard that, right?
It's all good.
Can only be fully applied to the believer.
Then he says, إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءٌ لَكَلَامَةِ Hardship
falls upon them and they are patient.
That is good.
You passed.
Great job.
وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءٌ And if a moment of
ease and prosperity befalls them and they are
grateful, then that is good for them.
So you have to truly see the khair
in it.
Some of us will see it tomorrow, literally
tomorrow, no exaggeration.
Some of us may see it in an
hour.
Some of us may see it in 10
years.
Some of us will see it يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
But there is khair.
Or you who proposed, you got rejected and
you were sad and now 10, 20 years
later, Allah blessed you with another spouse and
you're like, الحمد لله, this one worked, the
other one didn't.
Or you who was dying to move to
Dallas so badly, you did everything you can,
you looked at real estate, then you ended
up being in Raleigh.
Khair, wallahi it's khair.
May Allah bless the beautiful community of Raleigh.
يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ There is khair on how
Allah guides you.
Just few weeks ago, in our local city,
there was a sister.
I know the family personally.
She is an older lady.
She slept in the washroom.
So she had a severe injury in her
hip area.
So right away she was rushed to the
hospital.
They did the examination.
And what were the results of the injury?
Believe it or not, I'm telling you this
first person.
She was discovered to have cancer.
Why?
How was that possible?
When she went to go examine the pain
from the fall, they said, forget the fall,
forget the bones, you have cancer.
But alhamdulillah, we caught it at an early
stage.
So right away she was admitted to the
surgery room and they took off the cancer.
Allahu Akbar.
You may say, why did she slip?
You know why she slipped?
She was making wudu.
You're like, I'm making wudu and Allah makes
me slip.
So Allah can relieve you from the cancer.
Allahu Akbar.
There is khair.
You may not see it now, but you
may see it later.
Believe there is good in whatever Allah has
planned for you.
Surrender to Allah.
Number one, mention Allah's name.
Number two, believe there is good in it.
And the third one, I'll share it with
you in the second khutbah bi-idhnillah.
بسم الله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى
آله وصحبه وسلم All steps to take are
great and there's without a doubt more than
three and more than ten.
But to share with you the last one
and perhaps one of the most important steps
of all is that when you face that
calamity or that tough news or that hardship,
you have to believe that you're strong enough
to face it.
You have to believe that you're stronger than
that calamity.
You have to believe that that calamity cannot
beat your soul.
Your soul is stronger than it.
You have to truly believe in that.
And when you believe in that, you'll face
it in a different mentality.
We take it from the Qur'an.
We take it from the hadith of the
Prophet ﷺ.
And I'm going to go to it.
But before I go to it, I'm going
to tell you what a physician, an orthopedic
in Ohio, I had a conversation with him.
So I asked him a question.
I said, is it true that when you
let's say perform a surgery, you tell your
patient, you want to give him medication, you
tell them that you have to believe you
will be cured?
Is that part of the steps of cure?
Like, yeah, I gotta do physical therapy.
You have to do surgery, but you also
have to believe you will be cured.
Is that mental part in?
You know what he told me?
He said, Majid, that's the first step in
cure.
The first step in recovery is to believe
that you will recover.
That's what the doctor tells the patients, whether
it happens or not.
Allah is the shafi, the one who cures.
Allah is the best example.
The moment you see that calamity or the
hardship or that change in your life, abrupt
change, random, that you thought it came out
of nowhere.
You gotta believe your shoulders are wide enough
to handle it.
Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala, how did Allah reveal
the Quran?
We all know Allah revealed the Quran to
Jibreel alayhi salam.
Jibreel revealed it to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi
wasallam.
Allah to Jibreel to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
But did you know that there are some
ayat, very few ayat, where Allah revealed the
Quran right to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam?
No, Jibreel.
So without me telling you what these ayat
are, what will naturally happen to you?
What is so special about these ayat that
Allah said it straight to the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wasallam without the involvement of Jibreel?
This was based on the authentic hadith in
the trip al-Isra wal-Mi'raj.
And what were these ayat?
The last two of Surah al-Baqarah.
And the purpose of the khutbah and the
reference of this hadith are six words.
لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعه Allah will
never burden a soul beyond its capacity.
Allah will not put something in your life
that will defeat your soul.
Allah will not test you, O believer, with
a test that makes you lose hope in
Allah.
Allah will not put something in your life
that you are going to commit kufr because
this tragedy that happened to your life.
Allah will save you and all protect you
and Allah built you that you're capable to
handle it inshallah.
And focus on the word Allah said روح
Allah said نفس The soul, your body may
die from a test.
Your body may die, but the soul may
not.
How many times you visited a sick person?
Someone who is in stage four cancer.
May Allah cure all those who are sick.
You go visit them because they told you,
O brother, visit him before it's too late.
He has three months, maybe three weeks.
So you're healthy, strong, wealthy.
You go to your car, drive to their
house and you try to hold your tears.
You don't want to cry because you want
to give words of encouragement to the one
who's about to die.
You walk in and what happens?
Who gives words of encouragement?
The one dying to the one who's healthy.
Allahu Akbar.
The one dying is saying alhamdulillah.
The one dying is lost all the weight
that they have.
The one dying believes that whatever Allah decreed
is best for me and the one who's
providing comfort is the one who is sick
to the one who is healthy.
How is that possible?
That man or that woman believe that test
Allah gave me something I can survive.
Even though the body may die, the soul
will be strong inshallah.
That is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam,
what does he say in one of the
most beautiful hadith about this?
He was asked a question.
Ya Rasulullah, ayyun nasi asaddu bala'a?
Ya Rasulullah, who are the ones that are
tested the most?
Who are the ones that see the highest
level of difficulty?
Who are they?
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says, al
-anbiya, the prophets.
Allahu Akbar.
I will not let this slip like this.
He said the prophets.
So you who is tested, do not let
shaitan and his army tell you Allah hates
you.
Do not let the devil whisper to you
that you are lowly and evil.
That's why Allah is punishing you.
No, it's because you are valuable.
Because Allah loves the prophets more than anyone
and they faced hardship more than anyone.
Keep that in mind.
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he says,
thumma as-salihoon.
So the prophets are tested the most, then
the righteous, thumma al-amthala fal-amthala.
It goes down the level.
Then he says something to bring you all
comfort.
He says, yubtala ar-rajulu ala hasbi deena.
You are tested.
Remember the level of hardship?
You will be tested based on your level
of faith.
Allah will never test you with something above
your capacity.
Never.
Allah may test you here, here, and here,
and maximum here to match your level of
faith.
Allah will never go a percent up.
Never.
Because that will break your soul and Allah
will never do something like that.
So you have to believe that you're capable.
Now the tests that are here are very
few in life.
Alhamdulillah.
They don't happen all the time.
Usually it's here, it's here.
But the ones that are here are extremely
challenging.
They're about to break you.
But you gotta believe that you're built in
a way to handle it.
That test to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam,
that test was at-ta'if.
It was at-ta'if.
Aisha thought, may Allah be pleased by her.
Aisha thought the test that was the peak
was Uhud.
He said, no, Uhud is here.
Ta'if was here.
Ta'if was the peak sallallahu alayhi wasallam
faced and he survived it alayhi as-salatu
was-salam.
So you too believe in that.
That's why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said,
فَإِن كَانَ فِي دِينِهِ صَلَابًا If your commitment
to your faith and religion was strong, زِيدَ
فِي البَلَاءِ Your test also goes up.
Your iman goes up.
Your test goes up.
Your iman goes up until people cannot even
see me from the wall.
Your iman goes up.
Test goes up.
This was said one time.
Until a sister, you know what she said?
She said, oh brother, I don't want to
increase my iman.
Why increase my iman?
Hardship goes up.
I said, you forgot the third one.
If this was hardship, this was iman.
There's something we have not yet addressed.
The reward, the ajr, allahu akbar.
The reward, you pass high school, you get
minimum wage.
You do bachelor's, we give you 23.50
an hour.
You finish your master's, we give you 47
.25 an hour.
You do your PhD, we give you 75
.60 an hour.
You like all the hardship but the pain.
So keep your eyes on the prize and
believe the reward is worthy and you're strong
enough to face that level of hardship.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to
bless you all and bless the people of
Quran and inshallah support your school, Quran, the
Noor Academy in this beautiful masjid.
And tomorrow they have the event.
May Allah allow us to support the people
of Quran and may Allah make us people
of Quran.
Ameen.
Inshallah, dear beloved imam, Muhammad Jirri, will be
leading the salah, inshallah.
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illallah.
Allahu akbar.
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
Alhamdulillah rabbil alamin.
Ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
Malik yawm al-din.
Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'inin.
Ihdina al-siraq al-mustaqeen.
Siraq allatheena an'amta alayhim ghayri al-maghdoo
'i alayhim waladdallin.
Ya ayyuha allatheena amanu ista'ainu bil-sabari
wal-salati inna allaha ma'a al-sabirin.
Wa la taqoolu liman yuqtalu fee sabili Allah
amwatun, bal ahya'un walakin la tash
'uroon.
Walana balwannakum bishay'in min al-khawfi wal
-joo'i wal-naqsin min al-amwali wal
-anfusi wal-thamarat.
Wabashri al-sabirin.
Allatheena itha asabathum musibatum qaloo inna
lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon.
Ula'ika alayhim salawatum min rabbihim warahmah.
Wa ula'ika humul muhtadhoon.
Inna as-safa wal-marwata min sha'airillah.
Faman hajjal bayt aw i'tamara fala junaha alayhi
an yattawwafa bihiman.
Waman tatawa khayran fa inna allaha shaakirun alim.
Allahu akbar, Allahu
akbar.
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
Alhamdulillah rabbil alamin.
Ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.
Malik yawm al-deen.
Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'een.
Ihdina as-siraaqa al-mustaqeem.
Siraaqa allatheena an'anta alayhim ghayri al-maghdoobi
alayhim waladdaad.
Inna allatheena ishtarawu al-kufra bil-imanilain yadurrallaha
shay'an walahum azabun alim.
Wala yahsabanna allatheena kafaru annama nu'mli lahum khayrun
li anfusihim.
Innama nu'mli lahum li yazdadu ithman.
Walahum azabun muheem.
Maa kaana Allah li yadharal mu'mineen ala maa
antum alayhi hatta yameezal khabeesa minal tayyib.
Wa maa kaana Allah li yutali'akum ala
alghaybi walakin Allah yajtabi min rusulihi
man yashaa.
Fa aminu billahi wa rusulihi.
Wa in tu'minu wa tattaqoo falakum ajrun alhamida.
Allahu akbar Allahu
akbar Allahu akbar Allahu
akbar Assalamu
alaykum wa rahmatullah.
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.
Assalamu alaykum.
Welcome to your masjid on this lovely day
the 17th.
Join us tonight to welcome back Sheikh Majid
Mahmood for our Friday night program after isha.
Then Rise will be hosting a statewide qiyam
with Sheikh Majid and Imam Saif tonight from
9 to 12 here at the IAR.
Exciting opportunity.
You're invited to support An-Nur Quran Academy
at our 15th annual fundraiser, striving for excellence
with special guests Sheikh Muhammad Jibreel, Sheikh Majid
Mahmood and Imam Umar Dahnun tomorrow the 18th
starting at 5.30pm in the IAR gym.
Register now via Radimasjid.org.
Jazakum Allahu khayran.
Enjoy this wonderful week.
Wassalamu alaykum.