Tammam Alwan – EidulAdha Khutba 2024
AI: Summary ©
The importance of honoring Allah's commandments and building good practices is emphasized in Islam, including struggles with overworked behavior and distractions from social media. The speaker also discusses the hesitation of Muslims to call "crow" and political statements, as well as a woman who talks to her brother about Islam and experiences with Islam. The importance of Islam is emphasized, along with the need to be mindful of one's behavior and address one's own hesitation.
AI: Summary ©
Allahu Akbar Allahu
Akbar
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu
Akbar
Dear brothers and sisters,
we're still in the 10 days of the
most blessed days of the year. The greatest
days of the year. These are the these
are the days of takbir. Allahu Akbar.
Let's just focus briefly and reflect upon the
first of these invocations, of these words of
remembrance. Allahu Akbar. Allah is the greatest. A
symbol of humility. A symbol of submission. A
symbol of recognition that everything we have rather
our very own existence
is dependent
on Allahu
And
and our focus should be on him and
him alone and seeking his pleasure. Right? Like
when we hear the adhan,
Allahu Akbar. It's a call to leave behind
our sleep, to leave behind our comfort, to
leave behind our distractions,
to leave behind our work, to leave behind
our worries, and answer the call. Allahu Akbar.
And when we start the prayer and we
lift our hands up, symbolically throwing everything behind
us, leaving everything behind us, we say, Allahu
Akbar, and focus on Allahu, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
In these blessed days of Eid, these celebratory
days, we remember Sayyiduna Ibrahim alayhi salaam. And
we remember his youth when he was so
young but so intelligent
as he wisely waited until his people left
in the day of celebration.
And then we know he came with his
hammer or his axe, and he destroyed all
the isles except for the greatest one.
Why? To get the polytheist, to get the
mushrikoon of his time, of his people to
stop and reflect
on Allahu Akbar.
Telling them, speak, they don't benefit, they don't
harm. So how can we benefit from this
in this day and age? The Nabi salallahu
alaihi wasallam says, I don't fear for my
ummah that you'll start to worship idols,
but I fear that you'll start to associate
others with Allah. Why? Through a shirkul kafi.
This inner
desire to please other than Allah. Ulterior motives
as we call it. I'm gonna lengthen my
prayer because someone's looking at me.
I'm gonna fast extra. Why? Because someone is
watching me.
I'm so obsessed with other people, and I
forget Allahu Akbar. Allah is the greatest, and
Allah is the most important.
And so let's let's think back and reflect
upon our own idols,
our own struggles,
overworking too much to chase after the dunya
when we have enough for ourselves and our
families. We have enough for charity. We have
enough to save up, but what? We overwork
and overwork and overwork and then we miss
salawat.
Or is it spending too much time after
this hobby,
trying to master it? After these video games,
trying to really perfect and raise our scores?
After these sports, trying to really keep up
with the statistics? At what cost? At the
cost of increasing our knowledge of Islam? Or
is it hanging out and socializing with the
aza and with the dawat so much
at the cost of what? At the cost
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's remembrance.
So let us not engage in that useless
talk and play at the expense of focusing
on
Allahu Akbar. We remember Sayidna Ibrahim alayhis salam
leaving behind his loved ones when he was
commanded to leave behind his beloved wife Hajjar
and his beloved
still nursing
baby boy,
Ismail alayhis salam.
And when he left them in the barren
desert
Why? Because Allah
commanded them. He left something that he loved.
He left something that he was attached to.
So what is it that we love? What
is it that we're struggling to leave behind?
What are those old habits that we've had
for years
that we secretly desire but we know are
not pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?
What are those friends groups
who when we spend time with them, we
start to use language inappropriately.
We start to discuss
topics that are inappropriate.
We start to be lazy in terms of
our prayer and hastening towards acts of and
righteous acts
giving up Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's commandments.
These are the days where we say Allahu
Akbar. And we leave what the hearts might
incline towards for what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
commands.
Allahu Akbar. We remember when Ibrahim alayhi salam
was commanded to sacrifice his beloved son. And
how much we struggle these days with sacrificing,
and myself included, the nervousness, the fear, an
animal we just met. Imagine his own flesh
and blood and his son.
Yet when he came to Ismail alayhis salam,
still as a boy or a young man
we can say, and he said, I've been
commanded to sacrifice you.
How did he respond?
He responded with full confidence. He responded with
full submission. And he responded
with Allahu Akbar answering the call. So how
about in our lives, when we're asked to
volunteer,
when we're asked to step up? But I
don't know. Well, you're in the position right
now where you have an opportunity to serve
the community. You have an opportunity to do
something of that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has
blessed you with. Are you going to step
up? Or are we going to be distracted?
Are we going to prioritize other things for
our time? Rather, answer the call of duty
while proclaiming
Allahu Akbar.
And afterwards,
after he had gotten the as we say,
Sayedna Ibrahim alayhis salam with his family,
who came to them to dissuade them from
following
Allah? None other than Shaitan on several occasions.
3. 3 occasions that the Hujudj right now
during these blessed days are throwing stones to
remember.
Our own lives, and how when we start
to do good things, when we start to
build good practices and good habits, we have
those who come up to us and say,
lighten up, brother. Take it easy, sister.
Much.
Just relax a little bit. Relax a little
bit. I'm feeling a little bit uncomfortable because
I'm at home and you're going to the
message. I'm feeling a little bit uncomfortable because
you're eating healthy and you're exercising and you're
using your time, and here I am just
giving into my desires.
Rather, we continue forward and we're firm with
the pressure with Allahu Akbar.
And afterwards, when Sayyidina Ibrahim alayhis salam and
his son Sayyidina Ismail alayhis salam had grown
old enough to help him and assist him
construct the Kaaba, Allah
commanded Sayidna Ibrahim.
And as we see today, millions of Muslims
from all over the globe, all over the
world have answered the call. And millions more,
many more before them from the time of
Sayedna Ibrahim alaihis salam.
But the point is he had to call.
He had to say Allahu Akbar. Allah is
more important than everything that you're doing right
now. How many of us hesitate?
When we have that uncle
who we know is engaging in riba and
interest in haram transactions. When we have that
relative who we know is selling pork and
alcohol within their business and gaining money from
that. When we see that brother or that
sister committing something displeasing to Allah and we're
shy. Saying, hey, you know what? I love
you for the sake of Allah. I really
care about you. Stop that. Calling to the
way of Allah. Or how about Islam even?
I saw a video a couple days ago.
Many brothers are going to the farms right
now. Right?
And here in our community, in VRIC brothers,
they went to a farm not owned by
a Muslim,
a Hispanic
American,
and not a Muslim. I think he was
a Christian maybe. And they sat down with
him and they told him, do you know
why we're doing this? Do you know why
we're sacrificing?
He starts to listen to them. They told
him about Islam.
And the brother sent the video on the
group, on one of the local groups. The
person is proclaiming the shihad.
How beautiful. And you know what he said?
He said, I have so many Muslim customers.
So many Muslims come to my farm, and
they sacrifice for aid or otherwise. Not one
of them has ever told me about Islam,
where we have this great religion in Nadine
al Aindallahi Islam. So how many times are
we shy to follow in the footsteps of
Ibrahim alayhi salaam and calling the adhan and
making the call to do good works and
to stay away from bad works. Allahu Akbar.
Allahu Akbar. Many
of us, because we have the sacrifice, we've
let our hair grow, and we've let our
nails grow as well, like the But how
many times has it occurred to us? Or
how many times
have we heard people tell us,
little bit. You're like, I know. It's just
10 days right here. I'm just doing this
for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
I'm doing this as an act of submission.
How many other times do we start to
do things and we start to see what
well, the community say,
auntie say to me? What will this sibling
say to me? Or this relative say to
me? You know what? I'm going to kind
of I'm going to kind of engage in
this people pleasing at the cost of Allahu
Akbar.
Pleaser.
Rather, disregard what others say if it contradicts
what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands with Allahu
Akbar. All of this is encompassed, subhanAllah,
in the saying that many people before sacrificing
say,
Say, no doubt my prayer
and my rights of sacrifice and my life
and my death, all of it are for
Allah,
Lord of the world. And as as we
rejoice during these days, and as we're happy
during these days of because Allah
commanded us to, our hearts are broken, and
our sadness continues, and our tears continue who
for our brothers and sisters who are suffering
all over the world, and particularly in Palestine,
and from amongst them those in Gaza, those
who have involuntarily
been stripped of their wealth, and stripped of
their health, and stripped of their rights, and
stripped of their homes, and stripped of their
autonomy, and stripped of their families, and even
their own lives. May
Allah keep them firm.
They've been put in such an unimaginably
difficult test, And
look how they react with Allahu Akbar. When
all of those inessentials have been stripped away
from their lives, who are they left with
other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? And now
they're an example for us. Now they're role
models for us. Now when brothers, you know,
in in the medical field have gone to
Gaza and come back to our community and
told us their stories of resilience, told us
their stories of taqwa, told us their stories
of steadfastness.
We know this is all a living, breathing
example of
Allahu Akbar.
We don't, my dear brothers and sisters, as
we're making this habit of Takbir and tahleel
and tahmi during these days, we don't need
to resort to that. We don't need to
voluntarily put ourselves in such discomfort,
in such harm.
Rather, as you're repeating these after every obligatory
prayer until Wednesday 13th
after, the last time, Allahu Akbar,
Allahu Akbar, as I'm driving home or walking
home with my family, I'm saying, Allahu Akbar,
Allahu Akbar, what does it mean for me
to leave behind everything except Allahu
and we will end with the dua. Oh,
Allah.
Aid our brothers and sisters all over the
world.
Oh, Allah. Strengthen those who are weak. Oh,
Allah. Feed those who are hungry. Oh, Allah.
Cure those who are sick. Oh, Allah. Provide
for those who are poor. Oh Allah, fulfill
the debts of those who are overwhelmed with
them. Oh Allah, have mercy upon our brothers
and sisters who've passed. Oh Allah, grant victory
for our brothers and sisters in Palestine,
especially in Gaza. Oh Allah, make their heels
firm. Oh Allah, be in their aid. Oh
Allah, grant them peace and prosperity and bless
them in all that they do. Oh Allah,
accept our righteous deeds during these blessed days.
And guide us to what's most pleasing to
you.
My dear brothers and sisters.
All brothers,
if you have a shoe