Sadullah Khan – Jumuah 30 Rabi AlAkhar 1444 25 November 2022
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In the name of Allah, most gracious, most
merciful.
All praise is due to our creator, our
cherisher,
our nourisher, and our sustainer.
We bear witness, there's none worthy of worship
much Allah much Allah. We bear witness, we
believe in all the prophets all the prophets.
And we bear witness that prophet Muhammad ibn
Abdullah Rasulullah
He's the final of all the emissaries of
Allah.
Listen to the elders, brothers and sisters,
at this auspicious hour of Jum'ah, I greet
you with the Islamic universal greeting of peace
of peace.
May the peace, the mercy, and the blessings
of Allah
be upon each and everyone.
2 events
have induced in me a great deal of
reflection.
One is a legal matter.
A legal matter that deals with the injustices
perpetrated
due to prejudice.
And the other is a global sporting event
deliberately
politicized
due to prejudice.
And both of them
the victims in these cases cases
happen to be
mostly.
Prejudice, we must realize, comes from an attitude
of discrimination.
A discrimination that often
belittles
belittles and vilifies
and demonizes
demonizes the object of the prejudice.
A person
against whom there's prejudice
verified and belittled
somewhat undermined
under all those circumstances.
It incorporates a degree of arrogance.
Belittling someone, being prejudicial
incorporates a degree of arrogance.
And this is what this term is,
in Islamic terminology or Arabic terminology.
That inflated feeling of pride
in one's assumed
superiority
of others.
And he's very destructive.
The person in whom Ojib permeates
is paving the way or is destined for
destruction.
The legal matter
pertains to imam Abdullah Haroon,
an iconic struggle hero in the annals of
South African history.
Who fought for justice,
primarily
by aiding those who are victims
of prejudicial
and unjust apartheid law and system at that
time.
And that imam,
and of course the masjid here and the
school is on imam road.
That imam was under constant surveillance.
Was harassed,
monitored by the apartheid
police in the 1960s.
And in 1969,
incarcerated,
interrogated,
tortured for a 123
days until he was brutally killed on the
27th September 1969.
The lying, conniving police at that
time, in cahoots with the
manipulated medical
experts
and the corrupt judicial system at that time,
declared that Imam Abdul Harun
at this inquest, that Imam died
falling down the stairs.
After persistent demand,
and after decades, 5 decades,
that inquest into the killing of the imam
was finally reopened
this month.
And it was evident from the report
of the forensic
pathologist
which made it unequivocally
clear
that the apartheid version, the police version of
imam Harun dying as a result
of injuries sustained sustained
falling down
staircase
at the Cape Town Police Station is
unequivocally
false.
We are cautiously optimistic as a community.
Many of us became more cognizant, more aware,
more
engaged in the struggle
because of Imam Abdul Harun, due to Imam
Abdul Harun.
And somewhat the influence direct or indirect
of his life.
So we are cautiously optimistic
that after closing arguments, the final judgement
early next year Insha'Allah
will reveal the deliberate lies, unveil
the actual truth
and rectify
the historical record of the imam's death.
Because truth needs to be told.
So many of our history books
have been written by the colonialists
and by those who are in power.
And truth very often
has been the victim.
And then we teach our children and grandchildren
a false narrative.
Written for us
not by our people, they are based on
facts and truth. And this is very important,
because as he stands now, Imam Harun just
died. Falling from
a, from a, from stairs, from a flight
of
stairs. The police officers
and some of us who were in court,
overseeing the imam's prison cell,
gave rather a calculated,
cold,
detached,
almost nonchalant,
not my problem kind of approach.
And his testimony
was
in contrast
to the impression testimony
of the family of the imam.
And it was heart rendering for us
to listen to the tearful testimonies
in the court of each of Imam Harun's
offering at the reopen inquest
into his death.
Those present in court
could feel the palpable pathos pathos,
the deep sense of loss,
and even a sense of fallen loneliness
felt by each of them.
It was after 53 years
that they were able to relieve the burden
of their hearts
regarding the loss of their principled father.
A father claimed by everybody.
Remembered
by all of us as a person who
helped the needy and the desperate families.
Yet,
tragically
and ironically,
as was evidenced in the testimonies,
others did not do the same for the
family of the imam when he died.
You see,
we know that those who give their lives
for others,
who are selfless,
who fight for justice
and by the way,
justice,
striving for justice, the manifestation of justice, the
fight for justice is the closest expression to
piety.
But we know people who are so selfless
in this struggle.
They imbibe
somewhat the prophetic spirit
mentioned in the Quran
about helping and feeding and assisting.
But with the aim,
neither do we expect any reward
nor do we demand any thanks.
Despite this kind of selflessness, despite
the imam taking the aqaba, the uphill path,
questions still persist.
Questions still arise
whether there were self serving informants
in the Muslim community
who spied on the imam to the police
because the police,
security police in particular,
never acted in isolation.
Paid informants were not uncommon even today.
And there were people in the Muslim community
including Olamah
who made scandalous comments
and conjured preposterous
theological arguments
to justify
their indifference and their non participation.
Many were very prejudicial
towards the imam for being so politically involved
with the underprivileged
communities.
And they prevailed,
it's so apparent,
a condescending attitude
towards his involvement and his political activism.
And this was worsened
by the apparent lack of empathy
shown by the community towards the imam's family
after the imam's death.
Everyone claims to have been involved in the
struggle. Anybody you ask? They're all involved in
the struggle.
All of us celebrate our heroes.
The question is, where were the people then
when the family had to move out of
their home?
When the household
was forced to split up with each of
the 3 children living in different family homes.
When the imam's dedicated
wife,
had to go work as a seamstress to
look after her family.
To put food on the table. To pay
for their school fees. She worked at a
laundry
to make ends
meet. Her resilience,
her strength of spirit
came through in the testimonies
of her children.
And she died
and was buried
exactly 50 years
after on the day of the Imam's martyrdom.
50 years exactly was buried in the grave
next to her husband. May Allah grant them
both.
You see, you must realize
and this is very important. We all cheer
when things are going well.
When things are going difficult and when the
things are over, we all say we were
part of it.
But must realize,
it's not good enough to be part of
the celebration when this odds are stacked in
our favor.
It is a mark of principal character
to be there when the chips are down,
to be your benefit
when it's most required and most needed.
It brought to my mind when I listened
to this, this man was alone virtually.
Alone.
And he did things and he wasn't as
politically active in the sense of
involved in the armed struggle and so on.
Directly
as much as he was involved
in catering to the needs
of those people who were imprisoned
and were incarcerated
looking after their families.
It brought to mind the Quranic verse
pertaining to helping the needy and the downtrodden
of those whom Allah
elevates as taking the Aqaba, the uphill path.
And what will indicate to you what the
uphill path is?
Those who free, those who may be in
bondage,
aiding, giving food,
assisting on the day of need. Not when
you feel like being generous in Ramadan or
in the last week of Ramadan, masha'Allah.
Giving when people need not giving because you
get more or more. So I'll give in
Ramadan so I get more. Even in the
giving, there's selfishness to us. Even now giving
this greed. I'll give but how much the
world do I get?
It doesn't mean you mustn't get more. But
some of us reserve it. I'll give my
money in Ramadan so I get double.
People are starving, I'll get more I'll get
more reward. It's not so much about helping
in your case, then it's more about your
reward which you want.
It's almost like a trade.
So helping those
at the time of need.
And then, it says,
the day of need, the time of need.
And it says,
whether it be a orphan who may be
related to you somewhat or will it be
someone lying filthy in the dust.
If you can do these things, this is
the Aqaba, the uphill path.
Then you are those who truly believe
because you facilitate the capacity for patient perseverance
and the manifestation of mercy.
You see, being on the right side emanates
from a degree of social consciousness,
from an attitude of positivity.
Our perspective on life and our engagement of
the world are thus greatly dependent on our
attitude.
And by attitude, I mean a settled way
of thinking or feeling about things or about
people or about situations.
And remember, our attitudes can be positive or
negative.
It can be prejudicial or empathic.
But realize that attitudes in reality
are reflections of ourselves
in the mirror of life.
As people of faith, we should ensure that
our attitudes are not unjustified
and neither should we allow ourselves
to be victims of the prejudice of others.
Prophet
defined arrogance.
You know, a person with one atom's weight
of pride will not enter paradise.
One atom's weight of pride, elegance, or one
weight, atom's weight of elegance will not enter
paradise.
And the prophet described in Sahih Muslim,
arrogance mean undermining the truth or undermining the
reality
and looking down on people. Condescending approach.
As for the second matter,
the most watched event currently in the world
is the soccer world cup in Qatar.
And it is so disheartening to to witness
the extreme
politicization
of this sporting event.
And it's disturbing to witness
the blatant prejudice
reflected towards muslims
and Muslim values
especially from some of the European teams.
The event is riddled with unprecedented protest related
debates.
It is
pontificating
what is right and what is what is
fair, what is best.
And
a dictatorial
colonialist
attitude towards those who do not abide by
western values
Because
of their Eurocentrism,
their European approach of looking at things, they
assume that the western ideals are the criterion
for civilized standards. That in itself is arrogance.
This very Europe
that invaded all of Africa,
imposed colonial
dominance by brutal force
and reached themselves
by stealing the treasures of Africa and the
Far East and the East.
Who brought a party to our land, who
imprisoned Mandela and Subukwe and killed Biko and
Harun.
That same supremacist mentality
was once again at work
and is in full overdrive at the World
Cup to hosted
in this the first time in a so
called Muslim country.
A barrage, a volley of negative
and somewhat
racist remarks that reveal the depth
of European prejudice
and blatant double standards.
I wanna get very clear. I'm not speaking
about the World Cup. The Khubba is not
about the World Cup. But how we need
to be awakened, how these are used
to vilify us.
I'm no fan of Qatar or the Qatar
government or the Saudi government at all. I'm
not saying that. I'm saying to you,
and I got problems myself. Why would so
much money be spent by every country to
host an event, 1,000,000,000 of dollars. Those are
questions I have.
But,
the inconsistency arise
when questions are suddenly raised
on the eve
of
the of the World Cup. And I'll refer
to few of them. Because it's a reflection
very often on here is the Muslim country.
See what the Muslims do. This is the
Middle East.
Remark made by
some of the English press. They hope that,
with the English can sleep peacefully. The camels
mustn't make too much noise outside the hotel
windows.
It's a joke. It's not a joke.
It's deliberate. It's a perception. Most people haven't
been to Qatar. Most of you haven't been
to Qatar.
So your image is what's in the media,
what they say.
Workers rights. We are all for workers rights.
It is we who have a portion among
human being, their livelihood in this world.
And there is a degree of rank among
people
that they may be of mutual service. And
by the mercy of Allah,
what Allah provides is far better than whatever
people can accumulate in a mess.
There should never be a violation of human
rights
by any country under any circumstance.
Whether migrant workers or any other laborers, Muslim
or non Muslim.
But why are these questions being raised now?
Why was this not raised when those multinational
corporations who are building all their hotels
and all their properties
in Qatar for years using the same migrant
laborers.
Why was there no issue? Was the migrant
laborers only exploited when they were building the
stadiums and not when they were building your
hotels?
Major issue of banning alcohol. It's a thing.
Of course,
we don't
promote
in any way,
the sale or the imbibing of alcohol.
But in 1985,
the consumption of alcohol
in the English football grounds in all these
stadiums,
wherever there was a view of the pitch
was banned for 35 years. Only lifted in
9 2021.
In Scotland for 40 years until 2021,
there was a sale ban on the sale
of alcohol.
Nothing new. And the reason
why it was banned?
It was banned because not of religious reasons
and I quote, because of the negative impact
of alcohol on the behavior of fans in
the stadiums. Not even a religious leader but
a sensible one indeed.
Qatar is a non soccer playing country.
But they are champions of Asian cup 2019.
I'm not talking about the soccer. America, the
world cup in 1994 when they didn't have
any other league. They didn't have a soccer
league in America. And they were hosting the
World Cup in 1994.
So they were far less prepared. Far less
soccer inclined. But they were given the 1994
worker.
Major objection.
Because FIFA banned the rainbow colored LGBTQ
one armed love band. One love armed band.
In 2014, Muin Ali wore ahead something on
his cuff.
Free Palestine,
save Gaza.
He was asked by the ICC to remove
it. And they said,
such equipment and clothing regulation does not permit
the display of messages that relate to political,
religious, or racial
racial activities
or cause
during any international match. So Muin Ali was
asked to remove it, double standards. But you
want to impose your LGBTQ
at a soccer match and politicize it.
You see, doers of such wrong deeds
emanate from prejudice. We will show you what
civilization is. You don't know. You are behind
time.
So doers of such wrong will be may
feel proud of themselves
and of their conduct. But the Quran reminds
us
Have you noted the doers of some of
these wrongful deeds?
Their wrongfulness seems wonderful,
Beautiful to them. So that they think that
what they are doing is good and what
they're doing is right.
But this must be remembered.
But many people
do not really know Qatar
and have not traveled there. But the image
presented by the media
through this global event of the first Muslim
country woke up, shows
what?
It indicates a negative perception.
The French magazine in this
week,
depicted
the team as a group of terrorists.
Cartoon.
Influential magazine.
This week.
These depictions
negatively
shaped public opinion.
And it cloud the people's perception of Muslims
and negatively impacts
their attitude
towards Islam which is most worrying.
In all of this, whether it be the
case,
whether it be both are prejudicial.
Both are consequence of prejudices.
In all of this,
whether it be the apartheid security
or whether it be the Eurocentric
superiority
complex.
Whether it be how the racist police
treated him in the police cells. Or how
the western media
negatively depicts
Islam.
There is an arrogance of dominance.
We are dominant
and we are arrogant.
We have the right to be arrogant.
Viewing others or treating others with content
is not a mark of their inferiority.
Viewing others or treating others with contempt is
not a mark of their inferiority.
But rather it's a mark of your prejudicial
inhumanity.
I leave you with the words and advice
of our beloved prophet
Prophet said, Allah has revealed to me
that you should humble yourself.
Humble yourself to the extent
that no one feels the right to boast
over another,
and no one feel that he has a
right
to oppress or denigrate
another.
I
just want to
mention that there is a
judgment
regarding the adhan, the masjid,
in the masjid.
And again, it was founded the person who
unfortunately
spearheaded the campaign
was rather prejudicial.
And that, the judgment was that adhan's are
permitted
and will be permitted
in all the in the country. May Allah
bless us. May Allah guide us. And may
Allah make it not only of those who
demand what is right, but be of those
who do good as well.
Just to remind the people that announced what
made last week
about, the famous chef that will be arriving
always in already in Cape Town,
Sheikh Hassan Nomani. He will be visiting the
masjid tonight, Inshallah. He will be leading the
salah of Maghrib, and thereafter, we'll have a
short program about in half an hour only.
And those who love the voices of,
etcetera,
the ima of the Haramain, Sharifain
of Mecca and Medina. You can imitate them
all. So inshallah, he'll be here tonight, inshallah,
leading the salah for Maghrib and also have
a recitation
after for about a half an hour, not
longer than half an hour. So
we are fortunate to have him here in
Cape Town. So try to make your way
here to the masjid inshallah
just to listen to, the person himself inshallah,
how he does the imitation
of all the other,
imba of the Haramain Sharif.
And then also, inshallah, we make dua
for imam Noor, Muhammad Osman Kazi Kaji was
the imam of Parkland Masjid of Weinberg. The
will be leaving
from, Primrose,
Parkwood. It will be going to Parkwood Majid,
but we're leaving from Plumstead, Insha'Allah.
Yeah. The Majid will be,
Parkwood Majid Weinberg, and 3 PM will be
the Salatah Janaza, Inshallah.
And, also,
we request to make dua for
sister or the mother of Faiza Kamal on
her 9th on her 69th birthday,
and that's from all her children. May Allah
bless her and grant her,
long life, and we all make dua for
all those who are not well. Those
who are sick.
And, just a for Qatari to to just
to request for the people who are standing
outside. The people who are standing outside, there
are enough space inside, Insha'Allah. There's no reason
to stand outside. I hope they can hear
me. They are depriving themselves from the blessing
of the inside of the masjid. The barakal
lies inside. There are space inside, InshaAllah. So
we request the brothers, InshaAllah, to make your
way early inside to the message, inshallah. Can
we just ask the brothers to stand and
to fill all
half his
We just ask you, brother, just tell me
to fill all the gaps. And can we
ask Hafiz Basheer to come to the phone?
Just as our latest half year graduate from
Islam, inshallah, he will be leading the Jummah
for the first time. So Insha'Allah, may Allah
bless him.
It is I wanna see, our basir inshaAllah
that,
Hafid Bashir who just, completed.
Hafid Basir fall. Inshallah, he just graduated as
a Hafid al Quran. Allah protect
him.