Mohammad Badawy – ‘Arafah and Eid are Special
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We begin as always in the name of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
That one true King, the most merciful and
the bestower of all mercy,
Whoever
Allah chooses to guide, then none can lead
astray.
And whoever Allah chooses in his infinite wisdom
to lead astray, none can guide.
And we testify and bear witness that there
is nothing worthy of worship. There is no
god worthy of worship except Allah
alone without any partner.
And we testify that the prophet Muhammad
was his final servant and messenger,
sending peace and blessings upon him
and his wives and his family members and
his companions,
and all those who tread their footsteps
until their judgment, asking Allah to include us
amongst them.
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
we are now at the doorstep
of perhaps the greatest day of the year.
Not because of some
worldly benefit that are offered,
not because it's a sale where we're going
to get a good bargain on some clothes
or some electronics.
The greatest day of the year in which
Allah
descends close to his slaves.
A day in which he
boasts about them. He brags about you
and all of his servants
telling the angels,
look at the servants.
Why are they here? Specifically about those in
the plain of Arafat,
and we're hoping that we're included in that
mercy just by virtue of this special day.
That he shows off to his angels. Why
are these people here? Why do they spend
this wealth?
Why are they dirty and disheveled and tired?
And they say they seek your mercy and
they fear your wrath, and he says,
you are my witnesses that they are forgiven.
May Allah include us amongst those who earn
his mercy in these blessed days. May
Allah
accept all of those who have made pilgrimage
to his house, whether in Hajj and Hamra,
and may he write for all those who
haven't been there yet. May he write for
them an invitation as soon as possible.
And now as we are at the doorstep
and the Hijjah have already begun to gather
in Minna, and they're already there. And they're
preparing
in a few hours
to head to the plain of Arafah, seeking
Allah's
mercy,
performing the greatest act
of the greatest act of worship,
the day of Arafah, which is part of
the Hajj.
And this day has so many blessings, so
many virtues, the day in which shaitan is
the most humiliated,
the smallest.
He has no authority
ever, but especially on this day, he's even
smaller, more humiliated in the prophet told
us. On this day, there is no day
during the year in which Allah
grants salvation to more people from the hellfire,
that he writes them off that they will
not enter the hellfire. May Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala accuse amongst them.
The day in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
said he has perfected this religion. He has
completed it.
And I will remain pristine in this fashion
from that day, 1400 something years ago until
the end of time.
A day in which he says he has
fulfilled his blessings
upon the believers.
A day in which he made an opportunity
for all those in Hajj and outside of
Hajj to earn momentous reward and forgiveness of
him
It is a season
of the seasons of Allah
like we were saying last week.
That the Muslim is seeking forgiveness,
is performing good all the time,
but he seeks out the seasons,
specific times and places,
in which Allah
gives the servant a burst of mercy.
Even though he's already the most merciful all
year round. He's already the most forgiving all
year round. But because he knows human nature,
he gives us another opportunity after opportunity. Ramadan,
then hajj, then 10th of Muharram, and so
on and so forth,
inviting us, commanding us to seek his mercy
and then forgiving us.
He made hajj an obligation on everyone that
at least once in their lifetime, they must
perform it. Not an option if they are
able.
And the reward of the Hajj, as the
prophet told us, is that there is no
reward for an accepted Hajj
except Jannah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala write
it for all of us.
There is no one that does this except
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He makes the command,
forces you to do something,
and then they're awarded that is everlasting pleasure
and forgiveness.
That is only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
In a few short minutes, let's look at
the blessings of this day.
Why did Allah give it preference?
What should I do? What should it mean
to me?
Why should I mark out my calendar every
year for the day of Arafah and the
days of Hajj? 1st,
Allah told us,
like we said, that this day is when
Islam was completed.
Allah says,
On this day,
I have completed for you your religion
and I have completed my favor upon you
and I have become satisfied with Islam Azadeen
for you.
And in the the Jews of Madinah, they
said
to the companions,
there's a verse in your book
that if it was revealed to us, the
Jews, if we seen this verse, if it
came down in our revelation,
we would have made the day in which
it came down
a Eid, a holiday. We have celebrated
this verse coming down.
So, umur
we ask them, what verse is that? They
said, it's
that verse in which Allah announces
that this deen is complete and that he
has bestowed his favor upon the Muslims and
that he's satisfied with Islam as a way
of life for them.
So
he told them, I know when it was
revealed
and the occasion in the place and where
the Messenger of Allah
was when it was revealed. I was there.
I remember that day, it was the day
of Arafah and the only Hajj that he
made
and the completion of the religion, Allah Subhanaka
is referring to the Hajj itself because this
was the one and only Hajj that the
messenger of Allah made.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying, now
you have all your rituals, you have all
the worship that you need, the do's and
don'ts, the commands and the prohibitions because as
we know he died sallallahu alaihi wasalam a
few short months after this.
So the deen has been completed. You will
never have to search
after this. What does Allah want and what
He doesn't want? It's all perfectly clear. He
has paved the way for you. He has
given you the road map and the legend,
everything that you need.
You will never be lost again if you
hold on to this.
That is a huge blessing.
And if you don't think it's a huge
blessing,
look around in society.
How many people bumping around in the dark,
tripping over their own feet, causing harm to
self and others
looking for the truth?
Looking for why am I here?
What should I be doing?
What is the purpose of my existence? He
saved us from all of that.
And there is no distress and depression and
hardship harder than not knowing your purpose in
life.
It is a hole in the heart that
no money, no wealth, no desire can fill.
And Allah is saying, on this day, the
day of Arafah, I saved you from all
of that. So we all Allah is saying
after thanks after thanks
for this huge blessing. We can't belittle it.
We can't
ignore its weight, its gravity.
The immense blessing which Allah showed us on
this day.
He also swore by this day. And as
we know, Allah commanded us only to swear
by Him, the one true creator, but He
swears by things that He wants us to
pay attention to. Great creations of His,
that He wants us to give special care.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
by that which is witnessed and the witness.
And as Abu Hurrayal he said that, the
witness is the day of Jummah, that's what's
being referred to here, and that which is
witnessed
is the day of Arafah.
And he also said, and some of the
halal services to mean he's swearing by the
dua prayer,
which is an even number
because means even on the odd. He's swearing
by the dua prayer, which is 2 rakat
or an even number,
and by the day of Arafah, just one
day.
So he is giving us important he's telling
us these days are important. These things are
important. Don't just take them for granted.
Don't let year after year pass by. The
day of Arafah is a normal day. It's
not supposed to be like that. This is
the greatest day of the year.
And this is the 3rd benefit. The 3rd
blessing of the day of Arafah is that
the prophet said,
That there are no days greater in the
sight of Allah than the 10 days of
Dhul Hijjah. And he was asked, what about
days like that, meaning 10 days spent in
the path of Allah in jihad? And the
prophet says, not even that.
These days, the worship and the
obedience
and the repentance that we show Allah is
greater than even going down jihad for the
sake of Allah
And then he said,
And on that day, he says, there is
no day greater than the day of Allah.
If Allah's hand and shows off, he boasts
with his servant. And he tells the angels,
look at them coming dusty and disheveled and
sacrificing and tired. They all came
seeking my
mercy.
Seeking my mercy, and they have never seen
my punishment.
So he tells them they're all here seeking
my mercy,
and they have not even seen my punishment.
They're doing this out of faith,
out of belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And there is no day, he said to
in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala frees more
people from the hellfire, grants them salvation
than on the day of Arafah. May Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala free our necks from the
fire and of all Muslims, allahu aamin.
And hadith, he said, salaam,
In a similar narration, the prophet added, he
asked the angels, what do these people want?
Why are they here? Why are they spending
their money? Why are they sweating and toiling
and crying here?
What benefit does this land present to them?
And the angels say they are here only
seeking your mercy
and seeking protection from your punishment. So Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala tells them you are my
witnesses that it will be granted.
These people will not be denied.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala write this for
us.
And another benefit of the day of Arafah
for us who are not in Hajj,
the prophet
told us
that he he
that the fasting of this day, the day
of Arafah, expiates 2 years of sin.
That he will forgive for me the coming
year and the previous year. 2 years of
sin, so make sure that is tomorrow.
Make sure you strive to fast this day
to the best of your ability to earn
this reward as the prophet
On top of that, like we said earlier,
he said,
There is no day in which Shaitan is
little and small
and insignificant and humiliated more than on the
day of Arafah.
What does that mean to you? Shaitan is
constantly attacking you, constantly whispering. You feel that
temptation and you feel that pull constantly in
your life, and you're sleeping on time and
again,
and you're wondering why you're not able to
overcome.
This hadith is for you. The prophet is
saying, on this day, tomorrow, he's tiny and
insignificant. He has no holes over you. You
can break him.
You are free.
You are on the side
of something so much bigger of Allah
On this day, he's making a public announcement.
All is forgiven. All dua is answered.
You are being brought closer
and Shaitan couldn't be any smaller.
Telling you that through the worship of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
not just the Hajj, but just by being
a Muslim,
Shaitan is nothing.
You can overcome, you will overcome, you will
persevere by the will of Allah
And he said in another hadith, the only
day in which he was similar in this
condition
is on the day of Badr, when Jibril
alaihi salam
came
down himself against
the disbelievers in the battle of Badr. On
that day, shaitan turned and ran.
And likewise, he will turn and run from
you
because of your strength and your belief in
Allah
He also taught us
The best du'a
if you're going through difficulty,
if your finances
are not following through,
if you're struggling with debt, if you're struggling
with illness,
whatever you need from Allah
the messenger of Allah is telling you the
best day for dua is tomorrow.
Raise your hands and pour your heart out.
You are speaking to the most generous, the
most
knowing, the all knowing, the all powerful. There's
no situation he can't change. There's no difficulty
that he can't lift. There's no sin he
can't forgive or won't forgive.
What is holding us back from asking?
How come we ask
the manager,
and we ask the cousin who has wealth,
or we ask the one who has authority,
or the one who has connections?
And we ring their phone time and again,
and they get annoyed, and they purposely reject
sometimes because they're busy or for whatever reason.
But the one who commands us to keep
calling, the one who gets angry when you
don't call,
the one who leaves no hand empty,
We shy away from calling him, Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. And he's telling
us, the best day for dua is tomorrow,
the day of Arafah.
And the best thing that I've said, me
and the prophets before me, he said,
is
There is no god where they worship except
Allah
alone without any partners.
To him belongs all power and all dominion,
and he is over all things capable.
And the scholar said, if you look at
this, he's saying the best thing I ever
said for this day and in general is
this, there is no request here. You're not
saying, oh, Allah, forgive me. You're not saying,
oh, Allah, give me. It's saying there is
no god worthy worship except Allah, The one
true supreme king and owner of all that
exists, and he's capable of all things. The
dua is implied.
It's implied in you acknowledging who he is,
that you're acknowledging who you are and what
you need, and that he's the only one
that can give it. And by that, it
becomes a dua and Allah
will not reject.
The greatness of Allah
There's nothing like it.
The connection that he gave you through dua,
that you need no middleman. You don't need
a sheikh.
You don't need to be in wudu. You
don't need to be facing the qiblah.
Even if all these things help, but in
whatever situation you are, dua is available.
In whatever situation you are, dua can be
accepted.
This is the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. So what about if you are in
wudu,
facing the qiblah, in the message between Adhan
and Haqqama?
Having just finished a good deed, given in
charity or prayed, on the day of Arafah.
Will Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reject the dua
like that? Sincere from your heart, begging, crying,
pleading.
Believe firmly in your hearts.
Have hope, firm hope that he will not
reject that dua,
that he will not leave you empty handed,
that it is impossible
that he will reject you. This is Allah
This is the day of Arafah that we
were taught.
On top of all these benefits and these
blessings and this encouragement,
we see
more paths
to acceptance.
We see glimpses of how to do Arafah
right by looking at the story of those
before us. If we look at the righteous,
their condition on their We already spoke about
the messenger of Allah last week and how
he spoke to the people, and how he
made du'a for hours.
That slightly after after finishing the and asked
prayer, he raised his hand by the mountain
and did not
stop until Magrib, at least 7 or 8
hours straight of dua.
And we mentioned a little bit about the
companions. And if we look about the righteous
before us, we see they followed
the same mold. If you want hints about
what to do, what to say, the attitude
to have more importantly, look at what they
did.
We have a narration of Mutlifid Abdullah and
Doctor. Muzani,
2 scholars of this Ummah in the early
generation that they gathered on day of Arafah
and they were heard saying, making du'a to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
O Allah,
do not reject this huge gathering of people
pleading
this huge honorable gathering because of me.
Look at the humility.
This is how you approach Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
He knows about the blessings that are there
of Arafah and how Allah doesn't reject anyone
day of Arafah and everyone is saved on
the day of Arafah and he feels that
this will all cancel out because of my
sin, because of what I've done.
And Allah
loves this brokenness because it's a reality.
It's not pretentious. We're not making it up.
We're not trying to put on a show
for others.
If you really believe this as we all
should, that we are the lowest, we're the
most sinful, we're the most needed forgiveness of
forgiveness from Allah
He does not reject this and he accepts
it because it's a reality.
And it's also narrated
that he saw the people
glorifying Allah and making dua on that day
and crying. So he said,
What do you think if this if everyone
you see here crying and pleading, and for
those who've been there, may Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala for everyone except you
see how quiet it is.
Immediately after the Khutva, by a few moments,
people begin to settle down and it pin
drops silent.
People pleading, people making du'a, some in groups,
some individually until Maghrib. It's a gathering like
no other that you'll never experience
before or after it.
So he's seeing all this and he says,
if all of these people gathered together and
pleaded this way to a man
for 1 6th of a silver coin, like
a penny, 1¢.
All these people pleaded with 1 man for
a penny.
Will he reject them?
If a rich man had a penny and
500 people wanted just that penny, would he
say no? So, of course, the people said
there's no way he would reject them, the
way they're pleading and
the little that they're asking for, they would
be granted the request. So he said,
I swear for Allah
to forgive all of them is less significant,
is easy,
is less of a deal
than for that man to give them a
penny.
My mercy has encompassed all things. It fits
everything fits inside the mercy of Allah
and the only place
that it doesn't touch
is the heart that rejects,
the heart that willingly chooses,
knowingly chooses to walk away. May Allah protect
us.
What what a great shame. How ashamed I
am in front of you, even if you
forgive me.
Because he's so ashamed
for even
disobeying Allah
His mind and his mentality in the state
of his heart
is beyond just asking forgiveness for his sins.
He's saying, what is my shame
for what I did? Even if you forgive
me, I'm still ashamed.
So the humility,
the state of heart that we need to
have on this day is greater and more
important than what you actually say. You might
not find the words. You might be confused.
You didn't memorize as much.
But know that the state of your heart,
the humility that you come to with Allah
can be that much greater than what you
actually say.
That someone could memorize the hadith and the
dua and say them as the prophet taught
them. But if your state of heart is
more humble and more sincere,
your dua is more likely to be accepted.
You're more likely to be forgiven
even if you don't say as much.
So put that in mind
and work to put your heart in the
right place. Get rid of distractions. Remember your
sins. Sit down and think
about your past, about the blessings Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala has shown you and continues to
show you.
It was also narrated that Abdullah ibn Warak,
he came to on
the afternoon of Arafah,
and he found him sitting on his knees
in the dust crying.
And he told and so, Who
is the worst person today? On a day
of huge blessing, on a day where Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala gives so openly
and forgives so easily,
who is in the worst condition?
So, Sofia Nasawri told him,
Who's the worst condition today?
The one who thinks that today,
even with all this, he will be rejected.
That Allah will not forgive him.
So know in your hearts, believe and hope
in the forgiveness of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Make a list of the people you care
about. Make a list of the requests of
the needs
of the difficulties you're going through and know
that there is nothing greater that you can
say that is greater than acknowledging Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala's oneness and greatness and power. Because
through acknowledging that by your tongue and your
heart, he'll give you everything that you need.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept
from all the Hajjaj in this blessed season.
That he decreed for us a Hajj in
which he forgives with with it our sin
and accepts all of our good deeds and
accepts us in the jinnah, Allahumma'amin.
A few quick reminders regarding the day of
Eid quickly.
Some recommendations.
1st and foremost,
make
Make
Don't make just any other day. If you
can take up from work,
try your best to do so.
Make sure that is felt by every member
of your family, whether it's by a gift
or taking them out or buying them new
clothes.
Make sure that they feel that
is especially
in a society
where we're the only ones doing Eid. It's
not like back home for some of us,
in which the entire
neighborhood is doing Eid whether you do or
not. They'll find someone to enjoy with, they'll
feel the festivity. That's not the case here.
That's your job. This is a
ritual,
a sacred day of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Make sure they feel that and they see
that in the way that you act.
Make sure that the the morning doesn't begin
with a fight or an argument over when
we're going or what time we're leaving or
what you're wearing. Try your best,
fathers and mothers and children alike,
to make this day a harmonious day. We
wake up with
the glorification and the takbir of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. And then we go to the
which is a worship in of itself. We
listen to the kudr, we make the prayer,
we shake each other's hands, we hug and
we kiss, and we exchange gifts,
and we try to make something special out
of the day. That takes a lot of
effort, but know that none of that effort
is for entertainment,
just for the sake of fun.
Change of pace or change of
atmosphere. It's a worship.
You're worshiping Allah and you're teaching your family
to do the same.
2nd is to know some of the sunan,
and there are many you can look them
up at your own leisure that you go
to the masjid with one path and you
go home with another path. It's just following
the sunnal, copying the practice of our messenger
to wear a good smell for the men
and new clothes for everyone,
to greet one another
with the greeting of, May Allah accept from
you,
from you and from us,
to give gifts to wear with clothes, to
make takbiraat all throughout the 3 days of
Eid up until the end of the 3rd
day at Maghrib. To sacrifice if you're able
to, if you have not already planned to
sacrifice to sacrifice,
and to spread the meat amongst your family
and your friends and the needy.
And lastly, to beware of prohibition.
It doesn't make sense that we're celebrating
everything that we just said, the bounty and
the forgiveness and the preference that Allah gave
us, and we celebrate all that by disobeying
Him. That does not make any sense. It
contradicts everything that we've been saying.
So if we use as an opportunity
to engage in haram things because they are
fun or entertaining,
what did we get out of aid? What
did we get out of Hajj?
What are we doing? Are we celebrating the
day of sacrifice as it's called,
because we love to sacrifice for the sake
of Allah, because we love giving up stuff
that we like if we know it displeases
him.
Does that make sense if what we're doing
on that day is disobeying
Allah
So, keep that in mind. Do your best
to advise kindly,
to advise with a smile,
to keep ties with your family, to make
it a pleasant occasion. And lastly, I just
want to mention so that it does not
we do not do well into our brothers
and sisters that I must be mentioned
the situation in Kashmir. May Allah grant the
Muslims their relief. If you do not know
about the situation, please go read about it.
Read about its history. Learn about the suffering
of
100 of 1000 of Muslim brothers for 7
decades
while the Ummah to sleep.
We spoke about this last week, how he
said that
the sanctity of Muslim life is more sacred
than the entire existence, more sacred than the
Hajj days and the Hajj land and the
Kaaba itself.
We can't forget that sanctity. We can't the
share that our brothers get
of our aid is just a scroll or
a share or a sad face on Facebook.
That's not enough.
See if you can call your representative
and tell them to take a stand that
you do not agree with what's going on.
Maybe write a letter.
There's a protest in New York if you
believe in the
process. There's so many things to do,
and du'a is not the least of them.
Du'a is not passive. You are pleading with
the most powerful, with the all aware, the
all knowing. So remember, your brothers and sisters
in Kashmere all over the Muslim world, may
Allah grant them release and victory.