Khutbah 7-15-16

In the Rila

Monastery, you know who was still futile who want to study when I rubella Himanshu, Rory and fusina women see Dr. Molina, Mei de la junta Allah Farah mobila. Woman you believe

in the law who was the hula Sheree Kayla was named Mohammed Abu who was sudo Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad in IBD Kawasaki Can you meet

me he was so happy he was seldom at the Sleeman kathira Yeah, you

know

what at 11 to the moon? Yeah, you know sutopo Baku

Bakula de holla akumina

wahala Carmen has jaha amin humare Jardin de

la la de tener una be here we'll have him in the La Cocina de como diva

minute upon long polling said EDA, useless American oil filled lukou vacuum woman nuclear in London what I saw was a frozen alima We begin by thanking and praising Allah subhana wa tada the Most High.

We think him in abundance, we seek His forgiveness We seek refuge in Him from the evil within ourselves and from the evil consequences of our bad actions. We bear witness that there is absolutely no one worthy of worship except Him alone. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made a Peace and blessings of Allah subhanaw taala be upon him is the last and final messenger of Allah.

It's very important that we renew our consciousness of Allah subhana wa Tada. First and foremost, on this blessed day of Friday in this blessing gathering of Jumeirah that we remind one another that Allahu subhanho wa Taala is aware

is fully aware of everything that we do and say and think of at all times. And developing that consciousness is what will lead to closeness to Allah subhana wa tada a closeness that we all need.

A closeness that many of us don't know yet that we need, but might be searching for that missing aspect of our life. What's interesting about closeness to Allah subhana wa tada is what the prophet peace and blessings be upon him taught us in an authentic prophetic narration when he said, some aloha uporabo Maya Kunal Abdul never be he was.

Our beloved messenger Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him said that the closest that a person will be to their Lord and Master and creator is when they are prostrating, when they are in this position known as sujood. When they are physically in the lowest position that their body could be in, when the head is literally touching the ground, a position that when you see, and you look at someone in that position from afar, it seems like a position of humility, of humiliation. It seems nonsensical. Why when God created you standing upright, with a spine, and with your head on the top of your body, do you voluntarily go ahead and put that head of yours on the same place where

everyone walks.

And the reason why is because it is closeness to your master and your Lord and your Creator.

When we talk about human beings, we walk upright. But when you talk about the one who created you from nothing, and the one who after we die, we will return to then when he commanded us to prostrate in that physically lowest position. It is in that position that we actually find heights and honor and glory. It is by way of humility in front of our Lord and creator that we find strength, honor and glory. And what's interesting about this position, the word that it is used to refer to this position is sujood. And we are blessed honored to have with us a group of distinguished students that are spending the summer learning the Arabic language. So perhaps we take a few minutes

analyzing this word and thinking of another word that shares a common denominator sujood which comes from the root of sajida you know another word that shows that route? What is this place called?

This place is called a miss gid now if you don't know any Arabic Do you hear anything?

similarities there between sujood and Miss g? Absolutely, because they share that common denominator of sajida. Why is a Masjid called msgid? Because first and foremost, it's a place where people gather and literally are prostrating, as we will be doing in a few minutes when we conclude the sermon, and pray, this all adds

a place of sujood. Now, of course, you can make, salute and pray anywhere in the world. And linguistically speaking, any place that you make sujood in that you prostrate on linguistically can be referred to as a message. But technically speaking, we were referring to these structures, these buildings, these places of worship, these houses of Allah, the houses of Allah subhana wa Tada, where people gather to remember him, as we mentioned in a previous sermon many weeks ago, when that Bedouin who is new to Islam and new to the idea of msgid came and actually urinated inside the masjid, and the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him in his mercy, in a very calm state simply

told him that these places these massages are for the remembrance of Allah subhana wa tada and not for relieving oneself or others might need a place to pray. So this is the masjid a place where we congregate for prayer. And it's a reminder about the value of coming together. A reminder about unity and a reminder about congregation. The prophets of Allah has told us that making the prayer in congregation, Salah to Gemma, the power the making the slot in congregation is better is play then slot to the fence then when a person prays by themselves become senior at nagaraja, or in another narration be separated or actually in a Delta 25 or 27 times better to do it in congregation than to

do it by yourself.

Why? Because the whole idea is that we come together, that we stand in these straight rows, and that we understand that we are all praying towards the same creator in the same direction. And that not only builds unity, but it also builds equality and equity. You see of Allah subhanaw taala set in the Quran, or Anil messaggi Allah

that these masajid belong to Allah. These houses of worship don't belong to me. They don't belong to him. They don't belong to any other Amen. They don't belong to the board. They don't belong to the donors. These massages are the houses of Allah and they are open for everyone to come. And remember Allah subhanho wa Taala in and when we look at the story and the story of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam we find that his Masjid was a living practical example of that. So you find the value that the Prophet sallallahu wasallam placed in these houses of worship, so much so that was sort of my use of Allah wasallam taught us that man Benner Illa Hema student when Allahu Allahu

beighton field agenda, a prophetic narration that unfortunately, our ears shut off when they hear it because we think we are in a Masjid fundraiser. Don't worry, this is not a mustard fundraiser. This is a reminder.

The prophet SAW Selim said that whoever builds a house for a long then alone subpanel Tada will build a house for him in general in Paradise, essentially guaranteeing that this person will have a route a path, a secured destination in general, that shows you the value of these places of worship, these places of remembrance, and of congregation when we look at Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam when he was finally able to escape the persecution in Mecca, and migrate with his few companions to Medina, before even entering the city, they established the masjid the first semester known as Mr. poobah in the south side of the city of Medina. And then they continue then enter the

actual city of Medina and again what is Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam do? By no surprise, he again establishes a Masjid. It was not as luxurious or as comfortable as this one here. Thankfully, hamdulillah we have these luxuries and we should be thankful for them. But it was a house dedicated for the remembrance of Allah subhana wa Tada. Not only in ritual acts of worship, like what we are partaking in today, but also in other general voluntary acts of worship, like education, the prophets that along with it was seldom his main place of education. The main place of learning for the early generations of Islam and all throughout the history of Islam until today is

the masjid And on that note, that's why we have programs like the summer intensive program, which actually begins tomorrow, a program dedicated to understanding a particular section of the Quran of the words of Allah subhana wa Tada. More about that to come later.

A place for education, a place for social reform, a place for those who have nothing to find something very valuable. As we know, there was no sofa, the people who had nothing except the shirts on their backs, because they migrated from Mecca, and all of their wealth was taken from them. They had a place in the masjid, there was no distinction based on socio economic status. When we line up for prayer, you don't pause and say, Yeah, you got to get in the row behind. We're not on the same level, that does not happen. And that's unacceptable. There is no room for racial lines in the masjid. And that's very, that's a very pertinent point to remember, especially in light of all of

what is happening in this very country of ours, when we think that supposedly racism had been extinguished hundreds of years ago, but it was not. And it's still ripe and rampant and has been, and the only reason why it's becoming more a point of talking now is because of the advent of technology, thankfully, people are capturing all of these instances of police brutality, specifically upon African Americans in this country. And so we know about it. And so we're talking about it, but it's been going on for a very long time. And it's appalling. And it's unacceptable. When you hear stories of a police officer, firing more than 120 rounds, onto two people inside of a

car, and then jumping on top of the hood, and firing another 41 rounds. And claiming that that's for safety. If you're really trying to protect yourself, you don't jump on top of the hood of the car.

And you don't need safety by firing 140 rounds. That's called racism. And Islam does not accept that. Not only is that unacceptable in this message in this house of worship, but in the system of religion of ours, in this way that we obey Allah, our Creator, that is absolutely unacceptable and not allowed. And Allah subhana wa tada says, boom, Allahu Shahada, just stand up for justice. And by the way, it's very important for us as Muslims, specifically, I would like to address those of us here, that are either immigrants or children of immigrants in this community, that we do not underestimate the struggle of black Americans and African Americans in this country. And think that

we're independent of that. Because we don't even know, we don't, we haven't even realized how much of a blessing it is that we have to practice our religion because of the struggle that Africans and African Americans were going through in this country. And decades before any of us even got off the boat, or our parents did, or our grandparents. One of my teachers and mentors, who's a very elderly man, African American, came to Islam way before I was born way before my parents came to this country. And he was telling us and he would ask some of the brothers from different cities, New York, Chicago, Toronto, here in LA, what's going on on such and such street corner? And they would

say, Oh, you know, there's a Masjid over there. What's going on on such and such Boulevard? Oh, you know, all the Muslims have their shops over there. Oh, really? That's interesting. You know, back in the 60s, we used to give Dawa on those streets. There wasn't a single Muslim to be seen in those days. And now the street corners are filled with people that have emigrated from different Muslim countries. And we think we're the ones that established Islam here. And we think we're the saviors of Islam in this country are the saviors of diversity or justice? Absolutely not. That had been going on a long time before. And this is a sensitive topic, but an important one because right here

in our message it we have some subconscious

ideas and feelings that we need to extinguish and get rid of once and for all, you know, because it'll sudama he said, alojado, Selim described them best. Nothing that I can say about racism is better than what the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, he said, it's Matina. You know what that word means? In Arabic, it means repulsive. It means disgusting. If you pass by a sewage area, and you can't even breathe, and you feel like you're gonna get a headache from the bad smell that's making fun. And that's what racism is. When the prophet SAW Selim overheard one man referred to another man in a negative way, because his parents were black. He told him in the C'mon,

fiqa jafria, you're an ignorant man, you have ignorance within you.

Because that's disgusting. And so while all of that is going on right now around us, we come and we gather in these houses. And this is one of the few places where we can be a beacon of extinguishing racism in our community and in this country, and we have to stand for that. And that is an important reminder. So that's what this massage it stands for. They stand for equality, education, help remembrance of Allah who said

Who, what, and we need to really think deeply about what the role of these massages are in our lives. It's not simply a place for us to come and do rituals and leave. It's not simply a place for us to experience the spiritual high of Ramadan and then be absent for 11 months. One of the reasons why we love Ramadan so much and it gives us that energy is because of the code, the energy of the crowd. It's a strong vibe you know, they say we're vibing that's the vibe you get in Ramadan. Because everyone is here, praising and thanking Allah subhanaw taala coming together, getting to know one another because it can come sure Robin Robin aka Ella Vitara food to get to know one

another. People come to the masjid and are not giving sound gifts enough.

So understanding the role that this Masjid plays not only in our lives, but in the lives of your children.

Don't just go to the masjid. Bring your families with you to the masjid. No one should be left behind the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, let him know email Allah He masajid Allah, the prophet SAW Selim categorically said do not forbid the women from coming to the houses of Allah. Because this isn't a men's Masjid. This isn't a women's Masjid. This isn't any one mustard for anyone Well, msft de lilla for Teddy rumor Allahu Allah concludes that verse with a reminder of what this is all about. This is all about turning to our Creator, and in obedience, as he commanded us to do, worshiping none other but that is the foundation of this religion. That's why we established

these houses of worship, and of remembrance of social reform of help of justice. And that's why we need to fill them in Mar Moodle masajid Allah we need to build them, and we need to fill them with our involvement with our participation. And with our support model, along with a config or an early whenever anyone can be male or female. It was the Korean Hakeem automatic numero uno esto film La Jolla with a common Isa Muslim enemy could even be infested Pharaoh in order for him return and repent back to your Lord, for He is the Most Merciful, most forgiving

hamdu lillahi wa

salatu salam ala Nabi rabada Allahumma salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad in Abdi Kabbalah Sunni can never be only by the early he was so heavy on Selamat Islam and kathira.

As we mentioned, that one of the main objectives of this Masjid is that it is a place for education. And for that reason, I want to remind you all of the program that begins tomorrow, a program that is designed to happen just after the month of Ramadan, a month where we strive to come closer to the words of Allah in the Quran. And that's why we have this program, designed specifically for those that have worked or summer school or other engagements to come on Monday and Wednesday evenings. And on Saturday mornings for three hour sessions, to sit in the company of their fellow students, brothers and sisters, and to listen to a diverse body of scholars and speakers from different parts

of the country and locality, men and women to teach us about what Allah subhana wa tada is telling us. In this particular portion of the Quran, the 23rd Joe's covering the sources of ERC, a soft fat and salt and that begins tomorrow in sha Allah to Allah at 10am. If you have not registered, I strongly and highly encourage you to do so. And if you are not able to physically be here for the classes, we are also offering the program by way of live streaming. So you can attend the program through the internet from the comfort of your home or wherever else you might be. Also, don't forget that we do have a hedge package program going from this semester with myself and chip 150. And there

are less than 10 seats available in the program. And there are a few seats that are pending. So it is encouraged for you to hasten and reserve your spot if you have the means and you have not already fulfilled this pillar of Islam. Or if you might happen to know someone that is in that position. Please remind and encourage them and put them in contact with us so we can have them with us in our group. Also a reminder that tonight we will have the F n program we will be resuming as we took a break for the month of Ramadan. And tonight is an especially interesting program because it is going to be a having a panel of brothers and sisters that are relatively new to Islam. And they are going

to be talking about their experiences in this normal been many of us were born in families or households that have been practicing Islam. And so Ramadan was just a normal annual part of our lives. But many of our brothers and sisters This is a new thing for them. So it would be very important for us to listen to their experiences to show empathy to understand their struggles, so we can be supportive for them and the others that will come after them inshallah Tada.

Also beginning tomorrow at 130 after the whole is going to be

meeting for the group of wise, the senior group for this semester, those that are above the age of 50. They are going to be meeting tomorrow. They're going to be fliers with more information passed out outside. As you continue attending today's program, remember that the value of the mustard is high, and that the mustard has etiquettes and of the most basic etiquettes that we should show towards this house of Allah subhanho wa Taala is cleanliness, not only in ourselves when we come to the masjid, but making sure that we leave them behind as clean. It's unfortunate to hear of how some people will be killed asleep in the restrooms or in other parts of the masjid. And we know that none

of us would behave that way in our homes. Or if we do happen to behave that way in our homes, then it's inappropriate for us to behave that way in the houses of Allah subhana wa Tada. May Allah make us of those who build and fill the houses of Allah subhana wa Tada. May Allah make us of those who boom Allah will masajid May Allah make us of those whose hearts are attached to the masjid because those are the ones who will have the shade of Allah thrown when there will be no shade except his shade. May Allah grant us that shade on that difficult day of judgement about it and I think jr has an awful feel it has an inner urban now we beg Allah to give us the best in this life and the best

in the hereafter and to protect us from the torment of the Hellfire about the law in the law. What will be the enemy when you're standing what you tell you they'll pull back when you will monkey Will you look Come come to the current with a court of law the manager could come or screw me. He is it come political law. How about law Yamato snon