Sikander Hashmi – Spiritual Return to School KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the journey of education and the risks and pitfalls that come with it. They advise parents to prepare for the journey ahead, including physical hardship, personal planning, and healthy routine. The importance of making plans for the journey and offering Surah Al primeah is also emphasized. The speaker emphasizes the importance of reciting the statement of Allah's last deeds for peace and security, being mindful of one's words, and not being a means of harm to others. The speaker also asks for help for anyone facing challenges and to make the return to school blessed and safe.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters,
my young
friends,
Imagine
going
on a long journey,
long journey away from home
alone
into the wilderness,
into
uncharted
territory.
You face
numerous dangers
on that journey.
There might be many struggles,
difficulties
along the path,
mountains that you have to climb,
rivers that you have to cross,
and you are going on this journey all
alone.
Or as parents, you are sending your child
on this journey
alone.
My brothers and sisters, in the past,
even today in some parts of the world,
seeking knowledge,
getting education,
involved, and continues to involve
travel and many dangers. In fact, the prophet
has said that, mansalaka tariqan
yal tamisulfihi
ilman
sallallahu
alayhi tarriqan illa jannah.
Abu Huraira radiAllahu anhu related that the messenger
of Allah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said that whoever travels a path
in search of knowledge,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make easy
for that person
a path to Jannah.
And note
that this reference to knowledge and generally when
we find virtues of knowledge
in the words of the prophet salallahu alayhi
wasalam,
it is referring primarily to the knowledge associated
with Allah
knowledge which is associated with the Quran and
the sunnah.
But by extension,
it can also be understood
to include other types of beneficial knowledge
that is being sought or which is sought
with good intentions
to please Allah
and to benefit others with that intention.
So physically,
we take a path people would take a
path towards knowledge,
but also metaphorically
as well. Our journey to become educated,
our journey or the journey that our children
take
to become educated
is actually
a type of travel. It is a type
of journey.
And luckily, alhamdulillah,
most people here
do not need to take
a physically dangerous journey or a physically dangerous
path to become educated. Alhamdulillah.
We are incredibly blessed in that regard.
So your child
or you yourself may go to a local
school. You might just have to go out
of your home and walk a few steps
to your school perhaps,
or walk a few steps to the bus
stop and get onto the bus,
or perhaps
take public transit or drive to another part
of the city.
At most at most, if someone is studying
somewhere far away, they will get on
to a bus, a car, a plane, and
travel to another city and live there and
study.
So not much hardship involved
as compared to before, especially physical hardship.
Yet my brothers and sisters, still,
the journey of education today
is not without dangers.
The journey
of education
today
is filled
with pitfalls
and dangers,
dangers
to one's
physical,
psychological,
and spiritual well-being.
Some dangers
due to social factors,
others
due to the curriculum,
others due to what is being taught and
how it is being taught and by whom.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
parents,
when your child goes out the door to
school,
when you prepare your child to go to
school, whether your school has already started or
is going to start on Tuesday,
think of it
as if they are going on a treacherous
journey.
Think of it as if they are going
on a treacherous journey,
a journey that starts when they are very
young
and continues for about 14 years or more.
It's a long journey, so don't think of
each day as a journey to school and
back. Don't think of each year as a
year in school, but rather think of the
entire journey
from junior kindergarten
all the way up to grade 12 and
college and university and beyond.
That is the journey on which you are
sending your child.
That is the journey on which you are
going as a student,
and that journey
has
many pitfalls
and many dangers.
So prepare for school
like a journey that it is.
Prepare for school
like you prepare for a journey.
Now regarding
a journey,
even as noble as Hajj,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in Suratul
Baqarah,
Take necessary provisions for the journey. What does
Zawah do?
Pack up for the journey. Prepare physically for
the journey
because people used to go for Hajj in
the past. Some people used to go for
Hajj and used to think that because they
are going to the house of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala and they're going on a journey
for Allah, they don't need to pack anything.
They will depend on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
They will have tavakkul on Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and they're not going to take any
provisions with them and eventually what would happen?
They would have to depend on others.
They would have to depend on others for
their provisions. So Allah
commanded what is Zawadu
pack up, take provisions for your journey. Take
what you need physically in order to go
through this journey
without relying on others.
But then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said fa
inna khayra zadit taqwa. When you are packing
up the other provisions,
know that the best provision is taqwa of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
So along
with your other things that you're packing up,
pack taqwa for yourself as well and be
mindful of meem, be mindful of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala or people of reason.
So every journey requires
some provisions,
some things that need to be prepared and
that need to be packed.
So we should arrange
for the needed supplies.
Yes. You should go and get school supplies
for your children. Get them the clothing that
they need, the shoes that they need. Make
the intention
that you are doing this as sadaqa and
inshaAllah it will count as charity.
Make intention you are doing this to fulfill
your obligations and to please Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and inshaAllah you will be rewarded for
it. So do that. That along with packing
their lunch and packing their books and their
supplies,
also pack taqwa for your child.
Also
pack taqwa for your child
and for yourself
as well.
So what do we mean by that? So
along with the scheduling and the planning and
the supplies,
the physical needs that you will be planning
for and that you're trying to figure out
at this time,
make plans
for your child
and your spirituality.
How are you going to stay connected to
Allah
How is your child going to stay connected
to Allah
Make a healthy routine because you see this
is a time we are all spoiled through
the summer vacation,
and now we are starting to get we
have to get back into the routine, which
means we are starting to make schedules. And
whenever we are starting to make new schedules,
there is an opportunity there. You can gain
that opportunity, you can benefit from that opportunity,
or you can lose that opportunity.
That
opportunity
is that you are starting fresh.
You have an opportunity here to design your
schedule in a way that incorporates everything that
is important.
Perhaps you feel that extracurricular activities are important,
so you've enrolled your child in martial arts,
you've enrolled them in swimming, you've enrolled them,
signed up already for skating in the winter,
you've signed them up for different activities that
you feel are important,
Give the same but more importance rather
to their
connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So schedule
that in. Figure out how you're gonna do
that and schedule that in to the schedule
from now. Make a healthy routine.
That involves the masjid.
That involves coming to the masjid regularly.
That involves
connecting with the Quran
whether it's learning
or recitation
on on on your own or with your
child.
The offering of Surah Al Jum'ah, very important,
especially for the students who are getting older,
those who are in middle school getting into
high school. Where and when are they gonna
offer Surah Al Jum'ah?
Many schools, hamdu'Allah, have arrangements.
Encourage your child
to get involved in the high school MSA.
Encourage your child to get involved in the
university college MSA.
Ask them where is suratul Jum'ah this week?
Who is leading suratul Jum'ah? What did you
learn at Jum'ah in school and university?
Engage with them
because
this is a lifeline for them during this
time.
We try to accommodate
after school Jum'ah for as long as we
can because the time for asr salah starts
coming back. So right now we're having at
4 o'clock. Asr is, you know, coming in
a bit after 4:30, but as it comes
back, we will have to move back at
that time for the after school Jum'ah.
But for as long as you can, please
try to make arrangements, make the effort
to pick up your child from school and
bring them for Surat Al Jum'ah here.
This coming to the masjid every Friday and
listening to the khutba is not something which
is ordinary.
It's not something which is trivial.
Think of it as critical as oxygen for
their for their heart, for their spiritual heart.
So make every effort
to bring them. And when the time changes,
consider, think about if it's possible for you.
If they're not having school, Jum'ah in their
school to bring them for during
school hours.
I used to do that for one of
my children.
I'll go to the school was nearby, so
I'd actually go and say, okay. I call
and I say, I'm coming to pick up
my child. On Fridays, every other Friday, I'm
gonna pick them up at 12:30.
I'm gonna pick them up at 11:45, whatever
the time was, and and bring them here
for Surah Al Jannah.
So you can do that.
You can talk to the school. You can
say this is something that's important for me.
I'm gonna do this. Maybe not every week.
I'm gonna do it every other week. I'm
gonna do it once a month. I'm gonna
do it whenever it's possible.
Right? So think about these things,
and use the time perhaps
in that is spent traveling to school, especially
if you're driving your child to school and
especially if the school is a bit far
away. Use that time productively.
Don't use it to listen to the radio
and listen to traffic and weather and what's
happening and chitchat.
Right. Spend that time. That is a very
valuable time especially in the morning because mornings
are the time of barakah as the prophet
has told us. So use that time to
help them connect with the Quran,
to listen to some tafsir of the Quran,
to listen to some translation of the Quran,
to listen to some short lectures, something inspirational,
and something that might educate them and touch
their heart relating to Allah
and their and their deen, or
have healthy conversations with them during that time.
Sign up for a weekend or evening classes,
whatever you're able to to manage or other
Islamic programs.
Be concerned
about the state of their taqwa, the state
of their relationship with prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
and he said, You Rasulallah, innee uridu
safran fazawwidini.
That, You Rasulallah, I intend to travel,
so supplicate for my provision. So the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, Zawwadakallahu
taqwa.
Interesting. He asked for provision. Make dua for
my provision and Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
makes dua for his taqwa.
Then may Allah provide you with taqwa, with
fear of him, with consciousness of him.
So the person was not satisfied or he
wanted more, of course, always want more from
the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam. Who wouldn't?
So he says, zidni. So the prophet salallahu
alaihi wa sallam then says,
and may he, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
forgive your sins. And then he continues.
He continues, zidni
So he's pleading to the prophet salallahu alaihi
wa sallam, please give me something more. So
the prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam makes dua for
him.
May he make goodness easy for you wherever
you are. So these are the types of
duas that you want to be making for
your children because remember it's a journey. So
make this dua for your children especially when
you're letting them, you know, go to school
beginning of the year or even on a
daily basis.
A man's when a man a person was
to set out on a journey,
Abdullah ibn Umar radiAllahu anhu would say to
him, come close to me, draw near to
me so that I may bid you farewell
as the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
used to bid us farewell. He would say,
That I entrust Allah with your religion,
your trust, and your last deeds.
I entrust Allah with your religion,
your trust,
and your last deeds.
A journey, of course, as we are discussing,
has many types of dangers, my brothers and
sisters.
So Uthman ibn Affan
reported
that the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
said that no servant of Allah, ma'am mina
Abdin
No servant of Allah says 3 times in
the morning,
every
day and in the in and in the
evening of every night,
except that
nothing is going to harm them. And what
is though what are those words?
That if a person who recites this dua
3 times in the morning, 3 times in
the evening, Insha'Allah, nothing is going to harm
them.
Learn this dua yourself, my brothers and sisters.
Teach it to your children. Ask your children
to read it in the morning, 3 times
3 times in the evening.
If they're not able to, you recite it
for them with the intention that you are
doing it for their protection, insha'Allah. Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala will keep them safe from all
types of harms, insha'Allah.
Ana Subhna Malik radiAllahu anhu reported, the messenger
of Allah Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said that
whoever says when leaving his house,
That in the name of Allah,
I trust in Allah for there is no
movement or might but in Allah but with
Allah.
Then it will be said to him that
you have been sufficed
you have been sufficed and you have been
protected
and the devils will be far from that
person.
Bismillahi tawakal tu'aAllahu
So once again, leaving the home, ask your
children to recite it, recite it yourself, and
insha'Allah,
they will be taken care of, they will
be protected,
and the shayateen,
the evil influences will be away from them,
Insha'Allah.
Finally, for my young friends, I want to
say,
you know, we are
myself, your parents, the entire community,
we are incredibly,
you know, proud of your efforts.
We look at you as the future of
our community.
You are our leaders of the future. You
are the ones who are going to be
managing this masjid, the the masajid of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. You are the ones who
are going to be protecting and propagating the
deen of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in this
country, in this continent, in this world.
So we have high hopes in you.
We want you to succeed.
We want you to do your best in
your studies.
We want you to be successful in your
careers
and to have successful lives, and you make
dua. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grants you success
in every way possible that is good for
you.
We want you to be protected from all
types of harm.
We don't want you to fall into the
traps of shaitan.
We don't want you to become misguided.
We don't want you to be a means
of harm to others, a means of misguidance
to others.
So please, we say this out of love
and concern for you because we want the
best for you.
Watch who your friends are.
Watch who your friends are and you who
you hang around with
because you will become like the people you
hang out with,
The people that you are with in school,
in your free time, with your choice, not
like groups that your teacher assigns you to,
but in your free time when you have,
you know, lunch, recess, you're in the playground
after school when you have free time, the
people that you choose to hang out with
those are the people you are going to
become like. So watch the prophet salallahu alaihi
wa sallam said,
Be pay attention
to who you befriend and who becomes your
friend.
Secondly, ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for help
at every step of the way of the
journey because we know I know firsthand it
is not easy, especially as Muslims. It is
not easy. In this society, in this environment,
in today's age, it is not easy. May
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala make it easy for
you and ask Allah for help at every
step of the journey.
Remember Allah, and He will make it easy
for you insha'Allah.
If you face any difficulty, any distress,
first remember Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala then ask
for help. Always turn to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala and Allah will be there for you
insha'Allah.
Finally, beware of anyone
or anything
that challenges your faith, your beliefs, and your
religion as you have learned it from your
parents, as you have learned it in the
Masjid, as you have learned it from the
people of knowledge in Taqwa.
Beware. If you come across something that challenges
your faith, that challenges what you have been
taught, that challenges
the practice of your religion,
speak to someone who is trusted, a trusted
adult
who you trust regarding your religion and seek
guidance on that matter. We We ask Allah
to make the return to school blessed and
safe. We ask Allah
to make it a means of reward and
a means of getting closer to him through
the entire
coming year and on every single day, and
indeed through the entire educational journey.
May Allah
protect our children. May Allah
protect our homes, our family, and our community.
We're gonna take a few moments. If you
like to offer your prayers
and then we will continue.