Sikander Hashmi – Do not…each other KMA Friday Message
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AI: Transcript ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters, my young friends,
My brothers and sisters, today, we find ourselves
living in a world
that is
increasingly
polarized
and increasingly
competitive.
The middle ground
between
viewpoints
is narrowing.
And there is very little effort
that's visible anyway
to bring people together.
Rather, a mentality
of us versus them
has set in.
Each side
claiming to be
upon the absolute truth
and portraying the other side as being
an absolute error.
And this is happening. This is a phenomenon
that can be observed in politics
when it comes to religion
within
religions and religious groups,
when it comes to social issues,
when it comes to conflicts.
Right? This is something that
is becoming more and more apparent in the
world in which we live in.
Along with that, we are also seeing increased
competition
because costs
are going up.
But at the same time,
people's desires
for things
also continue to increase and grow.
So there are financial pressures.
And as a result, there is more competition
as well.
Just generally between groups but also between individuals
too.
Sadly,
these realities
lead to a rise
in negative sentiments
inside of people,
inside of us,
for others.
And having ill feelings inside of us
is a problem.
It's not something which
should be happening, and it's not something that
we should be
accepting
inside of us. It is not something that
we should be okay with.
Because it is tied
to the illnesses of the heart.
It is a barrier
to having a pure heart
that is so essential, that is so important
for our spiritual well-being in this world
and especially
in the hereafter.
Because these
ill feelings
that we may have for others
rob us
of our peace of mind,
of our peace of heart.
They create discontent,
and, of course, they are a cause of
spreading
animosity.
They drive actions because you see actions don't
just happen.
When a person does something,
it doesn't just happen.
But most of the time, there will be
a process behind it, even if it occurs
very quickly.
There are feelings
that drive actions. There are thoughts that drive
actions.
So these ill feelings about others drive actions
that take us further away
from inner peace.
Take us away from spirituality
and into actions that can hurt others.
Clouding our judgment
because we have become
so biased or we have become
so
partisan or because we have become
so devoted to a particular viewpoint or a
particular
perspective
that lead can lead us into
saying things, even doing things,
which end up hurting
others.
And this, of course, increases our burden of
sins.
Because we do something wrong, it increases our
own burden.
It has the potential to hurt us. Well,
it hurts us definitely
in this world, and it has the potential
to to hurt us severely in the next
as well.
And it ends up staining our spiritual hearts
further.
Right? So this phenomenon
that we are observing of increased polarization
and increased competitiveness
leads to certain types of behaviors or certain
types of feelings that can lead to certain
types of behaviors.
And these feelings are harmful
and these behaviors
are
harmful.
Most importantly,
it can be a barrier
to attaining the forgiveness of Allah
The prophet
told us as related by
that that the doors of Jannah are opened.
On Mondays Thursdays.
And every person
who does not associate partners with Allah
is forgiven.
Except
for the man, except for the person
who has enmity between
himself and another.
So
if you think about it, how serious that
is that everyone's forgiven.
Everyone who has is not doing is not
associated partners with Allah
is forgiven.
Due to the mercy of Allah
that is is is linked with or that
is symbolized by the opening of the doors
of Jannah every Monday and every Thursday.
Except
from the people, from amongst the people who
are not doing shit. Everyone's forgiven except
the person
who has
enmity between himself and another.
And it is said,
Leave these 2
until they make peace,
until they settle amongst themselves.
Right? If we reflect upon this, my brothers
and sisters,
the implications of this.
Right? You'll think
that having a disagreement, a grudge
with an, you know, with another person
having enmity.
That's a big deal. It's only 1 person.
But that one person, that one
unjustified,
grudge,
and feeling of enmity may actually be
a barrier.
To you being forgiven by Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us
and forgive us.
So my brothers and sisters, at such times
when tensions are high,
people are tired.
People are tired.
And they are anxious.
They are frustrated.
We need to be extra careful.
We need to be we always have to
be careful but we need to be extra
careful at such such times.
So what are these behaviors that we are
to watch for?
The prophet
has given us a list of do nots.
How not to behave towards each other.
A list that appears to be, you know,
quite short if you just read through it.
And
even in, you know, in the Arabic language,
the the words are even shorter, like compared
to English or if you're to translate it
into another language. Right? There's a lot of
meaning that is packed into 2 words.
Right? One small phrase.
So it appears short, but the impacts
are so many. It impacts us in so
many ways
and requires
so much mindfulness
and effort to practice, to actually bring it
into our lives.
Right? And the reason why I highlight this
is because I think a lot of times
we come across verses of the Quran, we
read the translation,
somebody posts it on social media, forwards us
something, and we read it and, you know,
we say, oh, yeah. That's that's very powerful.
That's very nice. I should share it because
other people need to hear this.
But we don't actually take the time to
reflect upon it ourselves. Same things with the
hadith of the prophet
You know, it's a very powerful speech. And
we think, oh, others need to see this.
But we hit the forward or the share
button so quickly
that perhaps we haven't taken the time to
reflect upon it ourselves as much as we
should, as much as we need to.
On the authority
of who said that the messenger of Allah
said,
do not be envious of one another.
And do not artificially raise prices against one
one another.
And do not hate
one another.
And do not turn
your back on each other. Your backs on
each other.
And do not undercut one another
in business
transactions.
And be all servants of Allah brothers.
Brothers.
A Muslim
is the brother of a Muslim.
He does not wrong him. He does not
oppress him.
Nor does he fail him when he is
needed.
Nor does he look down
upon him.
And the prophet
then said,
the piety
is here,
and he poised pointed to his chest
3 times.
He pointed to his chest 3 times.
Muslim. It is enough
of evil for a person
to hold his Muslim brother in contempt,
to look down upon his Muslim brother.
And the prophet
closes with
That all
of a Muslim is inviable,
inviolable to another Muslim, his blood, his wealth,
and his honor
reported by Imam Muslim in Sahih.
So we read over this. I'm sure you've
heard this before as well.
Right? But what are the implications
of these teachings?
To me in my life.
What are the implications
to me and my relationships?
When the prophet
says
do not have
for one another.
Meaning,
what is hasad that a person feels unhappy
at the good fortune of another person and
the good quality that Allah
has granted to another person.
Wishes that it would be taken away from
them
and given to him or her instead. This
is Hassid.
Or at least that the other person should
be deprived of it.
So this jealousy,
this envy, which is negative.
It's fine if a person thinks, okay, the
other person is blessed. Masha Allah. May Allah
bless them more. May Allah also bless me
in the same way. No problem.
But to desire someone else to be
deprived of their blessing or of their goodness
and to have it instead,
or even if not to have it instead,
but just so that they are deprived of
it. This is clearly forbidden.
And this is a major sin, and this
is actually one of the traits of Iblis.
And also the trait of Pabib.
Right? 1 of the 2 sons of Sayna
Adam alaihi sallam who had towards his brother
Habib and ended up killing him.
Right? This is a type of transaction
where a person is neither the buyer or
the seller, but they bid to increase the
price
of an item or of something that is
being sold without any intention of buying it.
Right? It happens in auctions.
Right? A third person just comes in to
raise the price.
A more broader interpretation of this
is that it is not just restricted to
business transactions
because the root of the word lexically refers
to
the word of the rule uh-uh, the root
of the word implies
concealing oneself.
He concealed himself
in the sense of,
like, as in a hunting game.
So in the more general understanding, the prophet
was perhaps implying with this wording that we
should not deceive each other, work in an
underhanded way to harm one another,
Whether it is in business or whether it
is
in a general sense, in behavior in general.
The prophet
said Do not hate one another.
Could be due to a different difference of
opinion,
could be due to origin,
color of their skin, whatever it may be.
The prophet said,
do not hate one another.
Now this doesn't mean that you must absolutely,
you know, deeply love every single person because
we know that is not natural
because people can have different personalities. You may
have, you know,
different attitudes. You may have, you know, different
views. Maybe you don't really get along. Maybe
there's something you find really annoying about each
other.
Right? But you don't truly hate that person
for the for the for those reasons,
especially in a manner that leads you to
end up, you know, hurting them or depriving
them of goodness or wishing ill for them.
Right? It should not lead to hatred.
Right? So we must separate opinions and beliefs
and actions from the person. Right? As the
saying goes, you hate the sin but not
the sinner.
Right? So, yes, if someone does something wrong,
right, we believe they're not upon the truth,
we randomly disagree, but it's about their opinion,
it's about their position. It's not their essence
that we hate
or that we dislike.
Right? So do not hate one another.
Meaning, don't let it permeate into your heart.
Whatever differences you have, don't let it come
down into here.
And this was the way of the companions
of the prophet
and the early pious Muslims where they had
disagreements among themselves.
But there was a basic level of love
and respect for each other that nobody lost.
Everyone had that
despite whatever
differences they may have had.
The prophet
do not turn
one's back on each other. Right? Never cut
off relations with
another brother
or sister.
Always strive to meet each other in a
good way. And again, if you don't know
each other or you don't get along or
whatever it is, at least the bare minimum
is the
spread the amongst yourselves.
Respond in a good way.
And spreading the salam actually brings peace and
joins hearts together.
Right? And if that is not enough and
you still feel the urge to cut yourself
off from someone or turn your back to
someone,
then maybe ask yourself
that is this thing that I am upset
about
so serious
that I am not afraid of being sinful
in or being found sinful in front of
Allah
because of it.
Or that I am able to defend it
in front of Allah
Right? Is it really worth it?
Is it really that serious?
And most of the time you find that
issues will actually be petty
issues. Right? If you put them in the
look at them in the grand scheme of
things, they're actually pretty silly a lot of
times.
And as we learn, it is not permissible
for a person
to cut off,
be cut off from their brother or sister
for more than 3 nights.
Right? That leads to
sinful territory.
At the very least, there has to be
a salah between
the 2.
Prophet said,
do not
undercut one another
in transactions.
Right? So someone has bought something, another person
comes in and says, oh, the transaction's done.
Or they're in the in the process of
buying something, say, oh, I'm gonna pay more
for this. Or I can offer it to
you for cheaper.
Same principle even goes for marriage proposals. When
you know someone's interested or someone has proposed
or someone is engaged, you don't interfere.
Right? So be careful.
As competitiveness increases and financial pressures increase,
right, be careful about these matters.
Believer doesn't wrong one another, doesn't oppress one
another.
Right? Including
oppression against non Muslims or wrongdoing towards non
Muslims that will not be overlooked by Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. It must be rectified.
So you must restore what has been taken.
Right? Either seek forgiveness
from the wrong person or perform a deed
that will
restore
the injustice.
Right?
So not abandon or forsake.
Right? Mutual respect
or mutual support and aid to the best
of one's ability for each other.
And the prophet
emphasized
looking down upon others twice.
And then he goes again and emphasizes that
in saying Muslim.
Right? So an arrogant or a proud person
thinks that they are better than others, whether
it is because of their wealth or their
education
or their home
or because of their car or their opinions
or their skills
or their ability or their fame or knowledge
or whatever the excuse may be. There is
never an excuse to look down upon others.
Because the prophet said it is enough evil
for a person to hold his Muslim brother
in contempt. And Imam An Nawawi says that
no Muslim should ever look down
on, upon, or belittle
anyone else. They should never think that they're
better than others, and they should either assume
that others are better than them or have
no opinion on the matter. Because only Allah
knows best.
This is because he says we have no
idea where the final resting place of a
human being will be.
Even if it is a non believer, Allah
may guide them to what is better.
If it is a youngster,
they may have committed less sins than us.
If
it is an elder, they may have been
in Islam longer than us. If it is
a person who is not pious, Allah
may guide them to what is better. We
do not know the heart,
what is in the heart or the final
end for anyone. So it is not our
place to judge or look down
upon
anyone
else.
Sometimes,
a good deed
by a person
who is arrogant
is more harmful
than the sin committed by someone who is
humble.
How is that? Because the person who is
humble commits a sin and seeks forgiveness from
Allah
and cries about it. Right? A person who
is arrogant does a good deed and
becomes even more arrogant and more proud,
which is something that Allah
hates. So in these times, my dear brothers
and sisters, we may have disagreements with each
other,
whether it is about vaccines, whether it is
about mandates or protests or politics or this
or that. But we must never let it
get deep inside of us
And always try to give others the benefit
of the doubt,
and accept the fact that everyone is different
and everyone thinks differently, because everyone has different
experiences,
different levels of knowledge, different ways of looking
at things.
As long as it does not involve the
open disobedience
of Allah
and his prophet
with contempt,
then we must learn to tolerate
and accept
one another.
This applies
to others in the community,
but it also applies to our families within
our own homes,
especially when it comes to our spouses as
well.
The prophet
told us that the first batch of people
who will enter into Jannah
will be glittering like a full moon.
The first batch will be glittering like a
full moon.
And those who will enter next
will be glittering
like the brightest star.
Their hearts will be as if they are
or as if the as if it is
the heart of a single person, a single
man.
Why? For they will have no enmity between
themselves,
amongst themselves.
So my brothers and sisters, every night before
we go to bed, let us try to
look inside our hearts and clear our hearts
of any type of hate or contempt or
animosity
or jealousy
towards others. May Allah
unite our hearts. May Allah
increase us in our love for each other.
May Allah
protect us from all evils, from the most
deeply kept inside of us to those that
are the most prominent. I mean,
You had, some very sad news. The brother,
of our brother,
passed
away. The
Very difficult, especially because, you know, of the
occupation.
Many of the families,
are not able to travel and visit their
loved ones and attend funerals.
Make it easy for them to make the
for him and all of those who have
passed away.