Mohammed Faqih – Friday Khutba 25-10-2024
AI: Summary ©
The transcript describes a disconnect between Allah and the Prophet, which is dangerous and critical. The importance of influence in shaping one's life is emphasized, as it shaping their thoughts and beliefs. The importance of religion in shaping one's life is emphasized, and the importance of individuals being considered in the generation of generations after death is emphasized. The importance of surrounding oneself with good companies and engaging with their community is emphasized, as it shaping one's life and is crucial. The most Merciful in Islam is discussed, and the most successful and most Merciful is also highlighted.
AI: Summary ©
As-salamu alaykum, my brothers and sisters, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala make us a united
community.
Inna haza ummatakum ummatan wahida, the election, U
.S. elections are just one week away.
Today, tonight, we have an opportunity to get
educated about how to make a decision, how
to make a decision about electing, and the
CARE, which is the largest civic right organization
in America, leadership are here.
The man who wrote the book, American Muslim
Election Guide 2024, he will be here.
Robert McCow and Brother Tayyib Yunus will be
here, Salatul Arisha at 8.15 p.m.
Arisha prayer, brothers and sisters, 8.15 p
.m. After the prayer, they will educate us,
tell us how to make the decision, who
to vote, we cannot legally, right?
So inshallah, bring your family, bring your children
who are qualified to vote, and deliver a
united message for the American Muslim community to
empower the Muslim community.
There may produce result, may not be 2024,
but 2026, 2028, right, 2032, and so on
and so forth.
We're looking down the future.
So let's come together and make the best
decision to empower us so we can address
the oppression of the ummah across the globe.
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.
Hayya ala al-salah.
Hayya ala al-salah.
Hayya ala al-falah.
Hayya ala al-falah.
Who and what impacts our choices and our
decisions?
Most people think that they think for themselves,
that they choose freely, that they're really in
control of whatever make, whatever life choices they
make, whether it's regarding their lifestyle or what
to wear and what to eat, who to
marry, all these other decisions that we make.
The reality is research shows that most people
conform and they choose whatever is expected or
whatever they think is expected from them to
do or choose.
And these choices are, in modern societies, usually
impacted by media, technology, popular culture.
Government policies sometimes can have an impact.
Family and social networks can also impact our
choices.
As a matter of fact, in one particular
experiment, they showed how most people will choose
whatever most people before them chose, even when
they know that it's the wrong choice, just
to conform, to show the power of that,
of conformity.
And inshallah, maybe in the near future, we'll
talk about that, the power of this idea
of just conforming to the norms around you.
But today, what I wanted to talk about
is, I wanted you and I to ask
ourselves this very important question regarding the echoes
and the voices of influence, the voices of
influence that echo in our heads, and ask
ourselves this very key question, who do we
really follow?
Whose followers are we in real life?
Now if you ask any average Muslim, especially
someone who considers himself or herself practicing, who
do you really follow?
Most of us will say the Prophet ﷺ,
Muhammad ﷺ, or I follow Islam, or some
people might even say I follow Allah.
And indeed Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is
your ultimate ally, and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is
the best of examples, Islam puts a lot
of emphasis on the importance of role models
and influencers.
Who is your influencer?
And Allah Azza wa Jalla in the Qur
'an tells us, لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ
اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ In Surah 33, verse 21,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, Indeed, in
the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, there is an
Uswa for you, there is an example for
you.
And it doesn't say in what sense, an
example as what, because Muhammad ﷺ, he is
an inspiration and he's an example in everything,
and for everyone.
He was a role model for the rich
and for the poor.
He was a role model for the men
and the women.
He was a role model ﷺ for each
and every member of the society and the
household.
And in the example of the Prophet ﷺ,
you as a believer or as a Muslim,
you should be able to find an inspiration,
you should be able to find an answer
to some of life's hardest questions.
You should be able to.
If you don't, that means there is a
disconnect.
That means you don't know him well enough.
That means that you are not yet able
to relate to his example.
Something is missing.
If you do not feel that the Prophet
ﷺ is your Prophet, your Muhammad ﷺ.
If you don't feel so close to him
ﷺ, if you cannot identify with some of
the challenges or some of the struggles that
he ﷺ himself had to deal with, then
there is a very dangerous and critical disconnect
between him and the Prophet ﷺ.
Between you and the Prophet ﷺ.
Why?
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ
That could be one reason.
The other reason is you're not where you
need to be.
In terms of your relationship with Allah ﷻ.
Because in the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, there
is an uswa.
There is a role model, an example.
He should be your influencer.
He should be the one that ﷺ inspires
you.
اِفْ لِمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهُ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ This
could be the other thing that is missing.
Allah ﷻ says he is a role model
or an inspiration to he or she, whoever
truly believes in and seeks Allah in the
last day.
Whoever is...
Allah ﷻ is so central in their lives
and they're akhira oriented.
Whoever believes in that.
They're the ones that benefit from his example
ﷺ.
Those who don't, won't find an inspiration in
him, nor will he be a role model
for them.
So maybe that connection is weak between you
and Allah ﷻ.
Or your focus on akhira is weak.
So you need to work on it.
Number three, وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا And remembers Allah
constantly and much.
If you do not remember Allah ﷻ, if
there is a weakness in your remembrance of
Allah ﷻ, you won't be reminded of the
Prophet ﷺ, nor is the prophetic example going
to be relevant.
So increase your dhikr of Allah.
Remember Allah ﷻ.
Remember that the Prophet ﷺ has a role
model in every way.
In the way the Prophet ﷺ dealt with
challenges.
In the way the Prophet ﷺ dealt with
and processed successes.
In the way the Prophet ﷺ dealt with
people, in his leadership style, in every aspect
of his life ﷺ.
Remember that he was a blessing from Allah
ﷻ.
You see, those who remember Allah ﷻ much,
know Allah, get to know Allah ﷻ, they're
going to realize and know that Muhammad ﷺ
was an act of mercy from Allah.
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ That we're so
fortunate that Allah ﷻ has chosen us, even
those who came 1400 years later, to be
of the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ.
We're so privileged.
Many Muslim, many of the 2.1 billion
Muslims don't realize how privileged and how fortunate
they are.
Especially those who are born into it.
The Prophet ﷺ, in addition to all of
this, he produced ﷺ and graduated the most
extraordinary generation, for them to be also a
source of inspiration for us.
You see, influence is a very powerful force
in an individual's life, especially people who are
impressionable and young people.
It shapes their thoughts, actions and beliefs.
As Muslims, we are called to reflect upon
the influencers or the influences in our lives
and ask ourselves this question.
And if we don't find Muhammad ﷺ and
those men and women who are around him,
النساء والرجال حول رسول الله ﷺ, if we
do not find them to be that source
of inspiration, then there is a problem.
Now, the Prophet ﷺ himself, he faced immense
challenges that some of us cannot even imagine
having to deal with.
And the Prophet ﷺ dealt with them, processed
them, coped with them with grace and in
a very effective fashion.
And he remained ﷺ to be steadfast.
And we can talk about some of these
examples.
I mean, just ask yourself, what would you
have done?
And on top of that, the Prophet ﷺ
was given other inspirational examples in the Qur
'an.
Allah Azzawajal, there was a reason why Allah
Azzawajal told him about the story of Musa
and the story of Isa and the story
of Yusuf and the story of Ayub and
the story of Nuh.
Remember, you're not the only one.
If you are denied, if you're abused, if
you're ridiculed, if you're called names, such things
happen to those who are before you.
And Allah told him, فَصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُ
الْعَزْمِ So be steadfast.
And the Prophet ﷺ found great source of
inspiration in those stories.
As a matter of fact, on one particular
occasion, when a man said something very offensive
to him, the Prophet ﷺ said, May Allah
have mercy upon my brother Musa.
رَحِمَ اللَّهُ أَخِي مُوسَى أُوذِيَ بِأَكْثَرَ مِنْ هَذَا
فَصَبَرَ He was harassed and he was abused
with much more and he was patient.
So we find inspiration even in the example
of these prophets and messengers.
And to me, one of the greatest stories
of the Qur'an is the story of
Yusuf ﷺ.
I can't even imagine what it was like
for him to experience what he experienced from
the closest people to him.
Betrayal from your own siblings and then betrayal
from the very people that were supposed to
care for you.
And then being innocent yet being punished for
maintaining your integrity, for keeping your integrity intact
and for really resisting temptation.
Being punished for being virtuous and spending not
days, weeks or months.
فَلَبِثَ فِي السِّجْنِ بِضْعَ سِنِينَ Several years where
a good portion of his youth was spent
in prison for not doing the wrong thing,
for not conforming to the influences around him,
for not giving in.
عَلَيْهِ السَّلَمُ And then comes after all of
this, comes out and shows grace and shows
maturity and shows self-restraint.
صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى نَبِيِّنَا صَلَى اللَّهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَامُهُ And the Prophet ﷺ does the
same thing.
Last thing I want to say before I
sit down, choose your influencers carefully.
Especially young folks who are present here today.
Be careful who you follow and who you
listen to and who you allow yourself to
be entertained by.
It's not just an entertainment.
It's not just a form of entertainment.
You're actually picking on concepts and norms and
values from them, believe it or not.
Some of you may not even realize that
the very reason that you're actually dressing the
way you're dressing is because you've been influenced
by someone.
Even your hairstyle might be a reflection of
you really being impressed by someone.
You don't realize it.
You're like, no, no, that's just my style.
That's just mashallah.
So be careful because the Prophet ﷺ tells
us that on the Day of Judgment, we're
going to follow those that we follow in
dunya.
Because on the Day of Judgment, we're going
to be with those whom we admire and
love.
So be careful.
Be careful who you let into your psyche,
who you let into your heart, and who
you let into your future.
It's not only dunya that we're talking about.
We're talking about akhira.
We're even talking about deen.
We're even told to be very careful as
to who we take our religion from.
Inna hadhal ilma deen This knowledge is deen,
your religion, your relationship with Allah.
fal yanzur ahadukum amman yaakhudhu deena So let
one of you carefully examine who it is
that they're taking their religion from.
They're taking their ideas and their thoughts and
their values and their information from.
Be very careful.
Last but not least, Ibn Mas'ud radiallahu
anhu says, man kana mustannan fal yastanna biman
qadmat This is his philosophy, his take on
it.
And he's talking about the generation, the best
of generations.
After that of the Prophet ﷺ, he gave
this advice to his students.
If anyone wants to really follow and commit
to the way of any individual, meaning other
than the Prophet ﷺ, then let him consider
those who passed away upon righteousness, who have
a long track record and ended their lives
upon righteousness in a glorious way.
Those who concluded their journey and their contribution
with honorable end.
fa inna alhayya la tu'manu alayhi alfitna For
the living cannot be guaranteed not to be,
not to fall into fitna, not to be,
not to lose his direction and deviate.
You never know.
So be very careful.
We do not have idols.
We have a role model named Muhammad ﷺ
and we follow the best generations that of
the Prophet ﷺ and those who follow him
and those who follow their path.
We ask Allah ﷻ to keep us upon
that path.
aqoolu hadhal qawla astaghfirullaha li walakum fa astaghfiruhu
innahu huwal ghafoorun raheem alhamdulillahi
wa kafa wa salatu wa salamu ala ibadihil
ladheena as-safa wa ba'd My dear brothers
and sisters, in contemporary society, we are bombarded
with many influences.
Many of which lead us nowhere except to
towards destruction and they pull us away from
our faith.
As Muslims, we need to be very careful
with the impact of social media, peer pressure
and mainstream, mainstream societal norms.
Some of which we somehow adopt as our
own, as our own dreams.
So we need to be very careful, we
need to be very selective.
Materialism echoes very loud and it impacts many
of our decisions.
And a time will come where a person,
if they do not take advantage of whatever
they have and do very well for themselves,
they will say, ya laytani qaddamtu li hayati
Oh, how I wish I had done for
my future.
For my life, actually, how I done for
my life.
When they realize that this life is going
to come to an end, they're going to
say how I wish I have done for
my real life.
A time will come where an individual may
say, ma aghna 3anni maliyah My wealth is
not going to avail me today.
Halaka 3anni sultaniyah And I'm losing my power
or my influence.
So we need to prepare for that.
And we need to be honest with ourselves.
It's not easy to deal with all of
this.
So how can we do that?
We need to be very resilient and strong.
And to cultivate that resilience, we need to
turn to the Qur'an.
Qur'an is the greatest source of power
and inspiration in the face of whatever it
is we deal with.
And then the prophetic example, as we mentioned
earlier, the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ is
full of wisdom.
You can now look up anything.
How did the Prophet ﷺ?
You know, sometimes we're like, oh my God,
I don't know how to deal with this
situation.
I'm not going to give examples.
We're dealing with different situations, you know, with
our children, with our family members, with our
neighbors, with our work.
How would the Prophet ﷺ?
Is there something?
Just ask yourself this.
There is nothing now easier than you finding
out how the Prophet ﷺ or what the
Prophet ﷺ had to say about a particular
issue.
And if you can't find it, come, talk
to me, talk to Shaykh Yasir, talk to
Shaykh Anwar, talk to the research station, talk
to Shaykh Muhammad.
If the Prophet ﷺ was around and had
to deal with this issue, how do you
think he would have?
It's a very interesting, I mean, we're not
talking here about just intellectually, but it's a
very interesting question.
Let me ask you a question.
As people who love the Prophet ﷺ celebrate
the life and the legacy of the Prophet
ﷺ, if you had access to him ﷺ,
wouldn't you go to him and ask him
some of your, deal with some of your
personal questions?
Messenger of Allah.
The sahaba used to do that.
Some of them publicly, openly.
People like Umar and Abu Bakr and others
used to come to the Prophet ﷺ and
say, Ali رضي الله عنه, Fatima.
They all sought his wisdom ﷺ and his
guidance.
Even when it comes to their own personal
life, Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
My wife said such and such to me.
A woman comes to the Prophet ﷺ and
said, Messenger of Allah, my husband did such
and such.
And Allah عز و جل heard her conversation
with him and revealed Qur'anic verses to
address her case.
They did that.
And it's available.
It's not too far.
It's very, very accessible now more than ever.
As a matter of fact, some of us
now have access to information that maybe the
contemporary, like people during the time of the
Prophet ﷺ couldn't access.
So take advantage of that and teach yourself,
learn from Allah عز و جل and from
his Prophet ﷺ.
Number two, surround yourself with righteous company.
Community is very important.
Surround yourself with righteous company.
I can't tell you how many times I
have seen people do, make stupid choices or
make poor choices and do certain things that
are very destructive, self-destructive and sometimes even
destroy their family.
And then I'm like, you don't look like
a person who would have, what are you
thinking?
It's like, my co-workers, Sheikh.
That's all they talk about or my classmates.
So surround yourself with good company.
Last but not least, engage with your community.
It is essential that we strengthen our bonds,
supporting each other through challenges.
You're not meant to or supposed to face
all of your challenges by yourself.
Tap into the resources that you have.
What are our bonds or relationships or brotherhood
or sisterhood?
What are they good for?
And we have to, my dear brothers and
sisters, be there for one another.
وَاللَّهُ فِي عَوْنِ الْعَبْدِ مَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ فِي
عَوْنِ أَخِيهِ The Prophet ﷺ says, Allah will
be at your service, helping you, aiding you,
supporting you, so long you are supporting others.
You are being a resource for others.
So tap into these resources.
May Allah ﷻ bring our hearts together.
The last thing, I may have mentioned this
during the week, my dear brothers and sisters,
Allah ﷻ is showing us great examples.
In the struggle of our brothers and sisters
in Gaza, we have, we're seeing, to me,
my most amazing influencers for the past year
have been the men and women and children
of Gaza.
May Allah ﷻ bless them.
And may Allah ﷻ ease their struggle.
And as I said before, if I was
a journalist, I would want to be a
journalist like the journalist of Gaza, Ismail Ghul,
Anas Sharif.
May Allah ﷻ bless them.
May Allah ﷻ grant mercy to those who
were targeted and killed.
If I want to be a nurse, if
I want to be a doctor, if I
want to be an engineer, if I want
to be an aid worker, if I want
to be a teacher, if I want to
be a father, today one of the doctors
that went there was telling me this orthopedic
surgeon, his children come and run.
The only time that they get a chance
to see him is if they come to
the hospital, to the field hospital where he
operates, say salam to him, hang out, and
show their love for him.
Because he can no longer actually even say,
you know, they can no longer say it.
They became refugees themselves.
That's the reality of our brothers and sisters.
And they're still standing their ground, fighting for
whatever is left of this ummah's dignity.
In spite of being abandoned by so many,
none of us can really claim and say,
well, I have been abandoned and I have
been forgotten and I've been failed more than
them.
Yet they're not losing hope.
They're not losing faith.
They're still standing, struggling and fighting.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless them.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give them
victory.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant them
freedom.
And may Allah forgive us for failing them.
Allah is the greatest.
Allah is the greatest.
Ameen.
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah
be upon you.
In the
name
of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful.