Mohammed Faqih – Friday Khutbah 19-04-2024
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Akbar
Allahu Akbar
I should warn
My dear brothers and sisters, one of the
greatest
accomplishments
for any believer in the month of Ramadan
is to
reach a better level of iman and taqwa.
It's to lead to to to reach
a level that one struggles throughout the entire
year to to to attain.
And unfortunately,
for many,
after the month of Ramadan,
there is a dip.
There's a decline.
Now
some struggle more than others,
and some
are able to maintain the changes
and the reform
that they were able to achieve or enjoy
in the month of Ramadan.
Today, I wanted to talk about a very
important
element of this,
which is the state of the heart.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam told us,
examines and looks at and judges each and
every single one of us based on the
quality or the state of the heart and
the quality of our deeds.
As mentioned in the hadith in Allah Ta'ala,
Allah
does not look at,
meaning Allah doesn't judge you based on.
What Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala examines is not
your images.
No matter how beautiful, how enhanced,
how amazing
your profile picture is.
You could you could be free of any
blemish.
You could be the most handsome
based on the
standards of human beings.
But to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala it doesn't
mean much.
In allaha illaamburu illa salaikum. Allah doesn't look
at that. He's the one that created it.
And overall Allah made each and every single
one of us
unique
and beautiful.
So Allah doesn't look at that, doesn't judge
you based on that. We human beings, because
we're very superficial,
we do that. We fall for it,
but not Allah.
And not even your bodies,
your physiques,
how you're built,
Your height.
Your skin tone.
The texture of your hair.
The colors of your eyes.
Your body type,
your bad your your your,
whatever, your fitness, any of these things don't
matter to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Allah doesn't look at that whatsoever.
But what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala looks at
is
your hearts.
The state of your heart.
And your deeds.
See, you know, it's some mashallah, alhamdulillah, and
I and I hope that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala blesses this.
Your fitness, your health,
you know, the amount, you know, whatever you
lost in Ramadan, the with the extra weight
that you lost in Ramadan, it's great. And
many of us
or at least some people within my circle,
they're like, yeah. I'm that's it. I'm gonna
hold on to it.
It's it's inshaAllah ta'ala permanent change.
It's a new lifestyle. I'm going to maintain
this slim look
and and stay healthy. Great. Good for you.
Alhamdulillah.
And we should we should we should actually
focus on that.
We should be taking care of these bodies
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has given us
and adopt
healthier lifestyles
and change our bad habits. That's very important.
But what about what matters the most to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala?
The fitness,
the wellness,
and the health of the heart, the spiritual
heart. Because that's what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
looks at.
And then what comes out of that heart
is
our deeds,
our actions.
The fruits of the hearts are the actions.
So that that's what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
looks at. And that's what we need to
make sure that we
maintain.
The reform, the change, the enhancement,
the growth,
the purity level that we have reached in
the month of Ramadan.
How do we maintain that?
That's the point of this kutbah today.
How can we hold on to that
desperately?
Because the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says,
There
is
this part of the body, there's a piece
of flesh, there is something in the body.
If you can fix it, if it's well,
then the whole body
will be well.
And if it's corrupted,
then the whole body will be corrupted.
It will spill over.
It will extend to the rest of the
body,
to the rest of your being. And we're
we're talking here specifically and especially about the
spiritual heart.
Maybe some of our medical professionals can later
elaborate on how even in the
physical sense
that could be also
very true.
That the your cardiovascular
health
reflects or affects the rest of the health
of the rest of your body.
But the spiritual heart.
So how do we do that? How can
we maintain that level of purity,
and that level of
iman and that level of wellness
that we were able to reach in the
month of Ramadan. Not only that but build
on it.
First
and the most powerful
of all is to turn to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala
and ask Allah Azzawajal for help.
For Allah Azzawajal is the one that controls
the hearts.
As the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam mentioned
in the hadith,
This heart,
in Arabs called it because they say because
it it keeps turning
and switching,
and fluctuating, and changing.
It turns over.
It can easily You can be one thing
in Ramadan, you can be totally the opposite
after the end of the Ramadan. And many
of us but what you know, we're even
shocked. What happened to me?
I thought I transformed.
I thought I was sincere. What happened?
So turning to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and
holding on to your attachment, to your connection,
to your relationship
with Allah
Turning to Allah subhanahu wa jal.
Turning to Allah subhanahu wa jal 1
through stilfar.
Asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for forgiveness.
And that is why at the end of
every Ibadah, no matter how how good we
are, we're supposed to actually
ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness for
any of our shortcomings and mistakes.
So turning to Allah ajazawajal constantly in a
state of
in a state of issighfar.
In the act of issirfar, in the practice
of issirfar.
The Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam himself used
to ask Allah Azrael for forgiveness
70 times in another narration 100 times a
day.
Constantly asking Allah to forgive you.
And repenting to Allah azza wa jal.
One of the greatest tools
to purify the heart.
Number 2. General dhikr. Remembering Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
Remembering Allah SubhanAllah, Wa Alhamdulillahi lahi lillahi lillahu
lahu akbar. And really actually pondering and focusing
on that. There's plenty of evidence
that supports that. Number
3,
du'a. Asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to purify
your
heart, or to keep your heart firm,
or to keep your heart strong, or to
protect your heart from anything that could corrupt
it.
You can look at at it in different
ways. And if you examine the prophetic dua,
you will find that the Prophet
puts or or there's
there's he
he many parts of his du'a involve
making dua for his heart.
And who are we talking about? We're talking
about a man
that not once
but at least twice.
1 in his childhood
and one in his adulthood. Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala sends angels.
And Jibril
comes down
and purifies the heart of the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam. Twice his heart was washed
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, and his heart was
purified by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
This man sallallahu alaihi wa sallam constantly and
desperately always is making dua for his heart.
So may I saw that even his companions
notice that.
You make dua.
Allahumayamuqalibalqalub. Oh Allah who turns hearts over,
Make my heart keep my heart firm, aladinik,
upon your religion.
And the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam told
us that a time will come and perhaps
we're living
that.
A time will come
when there will be so many trials and
tribulations.
Fitna.
Fitna.
By, you know, day night,
around the clock, you're exposed to fitna.
We are carrying fitna in our pockets
through, you know, these devices that we have.
We're constantly exposed to fitna.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says,
to the point where a man may
come upon
may start his day as a believer,
and by the end of that day, by
night,
they lose their iman.
Goes to bed as a believer
and in the morning that person becomes Kafir.
We're constantly bombarded with all kinds of fitna.
So that heart needs protection from Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can
protect it. You will find the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam asking Allah ajawajal
to purify his heart,
or to
to to islah
which means to enhance,
to rectify,
to purify, to reform,
to make it well, or
to guide.
Allahumma Adi Qalbi,
O Allah, guide my heart sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam. He himself was a guide sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam. He was the source of guidance.
Yet he's asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to
keep him guided and to guide his heart,
and to protect his heart,
and to help him regulate his heart.
Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. So du'a.
So 1 is sifar, specifically seeking
forgiveness.
2, dhikr of Allah azza wa jal constantly
being in the state of dhikr.
It purifies the heart. It polishes the heart.
As mentioned in one hadith. That the heart
rests
like metal rest.
So how do you polish it? The thick
of Allah azza wa jal. SubhanAllah.
And number 3, to desperately pray to Allah
and ask Allah azza wa jal for guidance
and for wellness and for purity of the
heart.
So that's with regards to Allah
Secondary
or
next.
There is nothing, my dear brothers and sisters,
that is more healing,
that is more supportive
to the heart than the tradition
of the man
who had the purest of all hearts. Sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam.
In the example of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam, your heart will find comfort and
inspiration
and healing.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam's sirea. The
prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam's mention.
To pray for the prophet salallahu alaihi wa
sallam and to
even
perform or send or recite salawat on the
prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam purifies and comforts
the heart.
And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, the
Sahaba
who had direct access to him salallahu alaihi
wasallam, who interacted by with him salallahu alaihi
wasallam, who were touched by the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam,
who had the privilege of being in his
company sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
They asked the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam that,
Umirmna, we were ordered, o messenge of Allah,
to
pray for you.
To pray or to give salam? Sala We
know how to give salaam to you. Salaamu
alaykayuhunabiu
rahmatullahi barakatuh. Salaamu alaykayr Rasool Allah. They they
directly said their salaam to him
in person.
And in response the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam will say what? Wa Alaikum Salam.
So they heard it from him sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam.
He's making dua for them. That's why they
were the most peaceful of people.
Because the salaam was directly They heard it
in his own voice sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
real time.
They said, We know how to make salam
or how to say salam to you.
But how do we pray for you? Kafunusalli
alaihi. So the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
taught them
the best
which Allah azza wa jal has chosen for
us
to be recited in salah.
This is the best
form of salahul Ibrahimiyya.
Allahumasalli
In another narration in another authentic narration,
Allahumasalli
a'la Muhammedin.
Oh Allah bless
Muhammad salallahu alaihi wa sallam,
and his wives, and his children.
So the prophet
taught us this.
And every time you again read, learn, reflect,
remember the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam, and
you say salallahu alaihi wa sallam, you're actually
treating
your
heart.
You're treating your heart.
Another way of strengthening our relationship with the
Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is by really
looking for a guidance. You and I, my
dear brothers and sisters, are either coping,
struggling,
or getting overwhelmed and exhausted and drained by
challenges and problems, on a personal level, on
on different levels.
Each and every single one of us. Life
is full of struggles.
So we're either coping or we're struggling, and
some maybe are able to manage
their struggles or their challenges very well.
But you will find in the example of
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
guidance and comfort.
The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam dealt
with
personal
problems, family problems,
Issues with his community. People that he called
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Even his
companions.
There were times where they had conflict amongst
them,
or there was a misunderstanding, and the prophet
had to deal with that.
He had to care He had to care
for an entire community, not only for his
family, but his entire community and for his
ummah. And he cared for other people as
well.
No one had more
burden
than the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
So if you think, My life is very
hard. I have to deal with a lot
of things.
You don't know, you know,
how much stress I have in my life.
Find comfort and guidance and the strength in
the example of Muhammad salallahu alaihi wa sallam,
and see how
he salallahu alaihi wa sallam
dealt with these issues.
Just read. How did the Prophet salallahu alaihi
wasallam Go ahead and Google it. How did
the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam handle such and
such? How did the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam
handled
not 1,
not 2, not 3, not 4,
but 9?
How did he deal? Different personalities,
different needs and
Sallallahu alaihi wasalam. How did the Prophet deal
with people
who are
speaking ill of him?
Gossiping about him, calling him names, putting him
down? How did the Prophet deal with haters?
How did the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
handle trolls?
How did the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
handle those people who were envious of him
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. They knew he was
a messenger from Allah that came
to save them and guide them. Yet they
rejected him.
They dismissed him sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
Whether it's from his own tribe or from
Banu Israeel.
They knew.
They knew the truth.
Hasadaminarindiyanfusayhim
Out of envy and jealousy.
How did the Prophet handle or how did
the Prophet cope with that? Cause it wasn't
easy. Especially for someone that really cared about
others,
cared about saving them.
So find
something to strengthen your heart, purify your heart,
and strengthen your resolve in the example of
the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam.
And last point I'm going to mention in
this portion of my hutwa.
My dear brothers and sisters, we have an
amazing gift from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
An amazing gift.
It's the very gift that you and I
became more exposed to,
and came in contact with and engaged
throughout the whole month of Ramadan. If you
wonder
where some that some of that inspiration or
most of that inspiration,
and the strength, and purity,
and energy
came from
in the month of Ramadan.
The most obvious
is the fact that besides the Ibadah, besides
the fasting and the submission to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala and the Taqwa,
It's the book of Allah, the Quran.
Our intake of the Quran, our engagement with
the Quran increases in the month of Ramadan.
Simply, there are some people
All they do is just listen to the
Quran in the month of Ramadan and they
feel different.
They feel the effect of it. It's almost
immediate.
That daily
connection with the book of Allah,
listening to it, reading it,
reflecting upon it.
Nothing
has
healing power. I'm talking about nothing that we
have
like nothing tangible that we have.
No
substance,
no,
lifestyle,
no regiment, no program
has more healing
power and effect
than the words of Allah
the Quran.
And that's why the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam recommends it.
That's why the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
biabihu aummi, tells us, Read this this many
times. Read this ayah. Read those surahs after
such and such, and before such and such.
So hold on to that.
Whatever you are able to do in the
month of Ramadan. Now some people might say,
Well it's not realistic. Wallahiajama'ah.
Wallahi is doable.
It's doable.
I was inspired in the very
few nights of the month of Ramadan. Little
girl, 10 year old, here in our community.
I noticed her,
her pronunciation. I said, who taught you that?
She said, oh, I learned it on my
own. Where?
Online.
We have here in our community individuals
that memorize the whole Quran on their own.
No teacher, nothing.
No fancy program, nothing. On their own.
It's it's about the heart.
And then and then after I eat, I
ran into her and I said, So how
are you doing? I'm memorizing surah Maryam. Are
you sure? Yes. On my own. Let me
listen. An entire page, not a single mistake.
It's all about the heart.
Ask Allah azza wa Jal to fill our
hearts with His love. And the love of
His Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, and the
love of His book the Quran.
Now I don't know about you. I don't
know if you saw some of these videos
that came out of Gaza and out of,
Jerusalem and
different messiahs, even Masjid Al Haram
and of young reciters of the Quran, people
memorizers of the Quran.
And one particular,
one particular
video that someone shared with me had to
do with little girls in Gaza, in refugee
camps,
sitting reciting the entire Quran from after Fajr
until Asr
to each
other. These are people who are living a
life that is worth living,
A life of Quran.
You know we waste a lot of time.
I personally, you know, over the past 3
days
was experimenting. See how how much Quran can
you recite or listen to
on the way from
your house to work or on the way
of dropping your,
your own children to school.
I remember the example of my late father,
may Allah
have mercy on him.
And I remember that I actually memorized a
good portion of Surah he has seen from
him because he recited it every day. I
memorized up to a particular verse because that's
that was I was the first stop. He
dropped me off.
I wasn't looking at a mushaf. He was
just reciting
and I'm just listening.
And believe it or not, you can finish
the entire you can finish
the whole
surah, Surah Al Kahf.
This morning, I was experimenting with my children.
Surah Al Kahf and Surah Tiasin,
on the way
from MIC to Pleasant View.
That's it.
Instead of wasting it listening to something that
is not useful, something that is not going
to help us grow,
or just sometimes just dead silence, or thinking
about different things, or frustrated by the traffic
and the horrible drivers on the road.
So take advantage of this
blessed
opportunity that you have, the book of Allah
A time will come where it's gonna be
taken away either from us
or we will
we will not have that, that
that privilege anymore.
May Allah
protect us and preserve
us.
Inshallah.
On Sunday, April 21st,
Sabir is holding an autism walk, in, for
autism awareness month, inshallah.
Sabar is our special needs support group here
at MIC.
The walk will be held at Johnson Park
from 9 AM to 12 PM.
General admission is $10, and all proceeds will
go towards the suburb program.
Free breakfast will be provided at the park.
In May will be the 2nd annual Southern
Dawah Conference. We held one last year. Inshallah,
the second one will be from May 10th
to 12th here at MIC,
bringing in local and national speakers with attendees
from various cities. Registration is open inshallah and
we'll be sending out that shortly as far
as the link for everybody to register. So
again the Dawah conference will be May 10th
to 12th here at MIC.
If anyone is interested in raising 1 or
more of our vegetable beds in the MIC
community garden,
please contact one of us in administration,
and we can get you hooked up with
that. And then lastly, the Palestine legacy platform,
or PLP for short, is a student organization
that has been recently established at the University
of Memphis.
It needs the support of the Muslim Ummah.
Now is your chance to come find out
more insight on Palestine, and this Tuesday's teaching
at the University of Memphis. The teaching is
taught from diverse perspectives of
speakers invited, which include Sheikh Anwar,
3 U of M professors, and an anti
Zionist Jewish voices for peace member.
There's the what's it called? The flyer has
been sent out through our newsletter. It's on
the projectors as well.
Doors open at 3:30 PM. It's at the
UC Theater at the University of Memphis. There's
a QR code for your free ticket,
and this is PLPs last event of the
semester. If you'd like to find out more
information,
their co president Adam Salah is here, in
a blue phobe if you'd like to connect
further to the cause.