Lessons From Surah al-Baqarah- Orphans and Opulence

Previously, in Surah Al Baqarah. We discussed the continuity between Islam and the guidance Allah azza wa jal gave human beings before. This continuity is in Tao heed the unity of Allah azza wa jal, and his exclusive right to be worshipped, as well as some of the fundamental acts of worship such as prayer, and fasting and to charity. But Islam is not just a remix of previous revealed religions. It's not a carbon copy. It is also distinct with important changes and updates. Juma prayer, the other than many things in our city are examples of these changes and updates. Allah subhanho wa Tada mentions one of the most important symbolic updates next in Surah to the Bacara and that is the

Qibla our direction of prayer, the early Muslim community when they were still in Mecca before the Hijra to Medina, they used to place themselves at the south side of the Kaaba and face north. That way, when they prayed, they would not just face the Kaaba but they would also face adulthoods in Palestine behind it. Once the Muslims were pushed out of Mecca, and made Hijrah to Medina, that was not an option anymore. They had a choice to make. Were they going to face the Kaaba or were they going to face l goods. And for the first couple of years after the Hijrah, they chose to face l goods and pray facing away from the Kaaba, just like the Christians and the Jews did. But about two

years after the Hijrah to Medina, Allah azza wa jal changed all that. He replaced that guidance with new guidance. He updated the rules, which is called nests. And yes, Allah can do that if he wants. And yet Allah azza wa jal never wants us to lose the forest through the trees. He never wants us to obsess over the details to the point that we forget entirely about the main idea, which is why Allah azza wa jal reminds us later in the chapter. That true righteousness is much more than the direction that we face in prayer. Allah azza wa jal says Lacell Bira and to allude to Helcom table administrativa Mallory will alkenyl bureaux men I'm gonna be love while the Amil after a while Mala

Iike while keytab one Narrabeen true righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or toward the west. But true righteousness is the one who believes in Allah, the One who believes in the last day, the one who believes in the angels, the one who believes in the books revelation and the one who believes in the prophets. Allah subhanaw taala begins with the pillars of Eman, the pillars of faith. We know that Islam has five pillars, the shahada, the Salah, the Zakka, the CM the Hajj, faith also has pillars, and there are six of them the most important parts of faith here in this ayah Allah azza wa jal mentions five of them belief in Allah, belief in the last day, belief in

the angels, belief in Revelation and belief in the prophets. The last one not mentioned here is belief in Allah Tada and Allah's decree. Each of them is essential. There is no belief without a single one of them just like the pillars of our masjid or the pillars of a building. If you take away the pillars, the entire building crumbles. belief in Allah the first one shows that you want to be grateful. Belief in the last day shows that you're willing to be held accountable. Belief in the angels shows that you believe in Allah's glory and power. Belief in Revelation shows that you think that Allah is merciful enough to give us guidance and belief in the prophets shows that you are

humble enough to follow the examples that Allah subhanho wa Taala chose for us.

This is the internal dimension of true righteousness. There is no righteousness without these ingredients, but it doesn't end there. There is also an external dimension to righteousness, Allah subhanaw taala says well as Salmela Allahu Akbar hither will photobiol Well, he uttama will Messiah keen wilderness Seville was said

Idina Warfield recall and the one who gives his wealth in spite of his love for it, to his relatives, to the orphans, to the needy, to the traveler, to those who ask, and uses that money to free slaves.

Allah subhanho wa Taala recognises our love for wealth. We love nice things. It's true. We love to have more than what we need. It makes us feel safe. It gives us peace of mind. And yet ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada expects us to give. Despite our love for it, Allah Spano Tala does not tell us that we cannot love it.

That would be very difficult. But he tells us that we are responsible for what we do, rather than what we feel we might love it. We might even love it too much. But we are expected nonetheless to give from what we love. To whom, who do we give to first Allah says to our relatives, and the scholars who held the opinion that it is not valid to give yours a CA to your relatives points to this verse, among others. Their reasoning is that giving wealth to your relatives is a duty separate from your duty to pay as a CA. Whereas the purpose of the CA is to redistribute wealth among the entire Muslim community, then to whom the orphans

care for the orphans is one of the most virtuous acts that you can perform in Islam. Allah subhanaw taala said in Surah tell Bella the fella called Tamela Baba Wilma other aka mela acaba that called October Oh, it I'm on z yomim, the Mesaba your team and barraba but he has not broken through the difficult paths. And what could make you understand what is the difficult paths? It's freeing a slave or feeding an orphan that you're related to. On the day of severe hunger. The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam promised closeness to him for whoever adopts an orphan.

caught us up Allahu alayhi wa salam anoa Kathy will your team Phil Jana CAHA attain was shout I'll be Oh Sculpey Yanni Assa Bebo, what will stop?

The person who adopts an Orson and I are in Jannah like this,

and he held up his two fingers his index and his middle finger.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said mercy to orphans softens our hardened hearts once a man came to the Prophet alayhi salatu salam and complained that his heart was hard

color to hippo and the Alina kala book what Todrick Hodge attack Irrfan Melia team, one South razza what upper amo mentor Amex Yellin Kalibak what Todrick hydratech So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to him, Have mercy towards orphans, caress their heads, feed them from what you feed yourself. If you do that, your heart will soften, and you'll get whatever it is you need.

Why did Allah azza wa jal say that taking care of an orphan was like breaking through a difficult pass? Why do people who take care of orphans get to be next to the Prophet Muhammad? sallallahu alayhi wasallam agenda? Why does it soften the heart because orphans are among the most vulnerable members of our society? Their parents are gone out of the picture. No one is there to take care of them. They're just children. They can't take care of themselves. And if nobody else take steps in to take care of them, then they will be exploited.

Normally, a person has a natural sense of duty towards your kin, the people that you're related to your blood. Most people don't have to be reminded to spend on your own kin, your own flesh and blood or to care for them. That's because you are part of them. And they are part of you. You identify yourself with them. But when it comes to children, who are not related to us, that natural sense of duty is not there automatically. It needs to be cultivated. It has to be grown, it needs to be encouraged and Allah azza wa jal has done that for us. In Islam, we're entering robiola the time around which the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was born.

Some of us will celebrate this time

In order to achieve feeling close to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself, and look here, he told you another way, a more direct way, if you really want to be close to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam like this, adopt an orphan.

People have faith right here in Utica, we have a problem. And part of this problem is that it's out of sight. If you go to the Middle East, if you go to North Africa, if you go to the Indian subcontinent, you see the orphans. You see them on the streets, either they're begging for money, they're selling tissues, or selling bottles of water, that sort of thing. Here in the United States, we don't see it out in the open like that. No, something different happens here. Here, if you're an orphan, you enter the system, even if your parents are alive, but they can't care for you. They don't have enough square footage in their home, or they're not able to feed you or they're not

perceived even to take care of you. Child Services, comes knocking at the door and takes you and gives you to somebody else.

Do you know that there are Muslim families that this has happened to right here in Utica, do you know that children have been taken from their Muslim parents who have fallen on hard times? Who can't take care of their children, Child Services comes and takes away their Muslim kids and give them to some non Muslim family to raise

Can you imagine yourself falling on hard times? Your children being taken away from you and then they're placed in a home where they'll never know the salah?

They'll be eating pork and everything else. Maybe they'll even go to church on Sundays. They'll grow up never knowing Islam, never knowing they come from a Muslim heritage

and at the same time, some of us Masha Allah robotic Allah have a very comfortable life. Some of us could afford to support an orphan. Some of us have the room some of us have the time some of us have the money right here in Utica, this is happening they need your help Akula Cody ha That was so cool hola hola como he certainly must meet him in Cali them the stock fetal in the hula hula for rocking?

Alhamdulillah he Allah if Sony was shook Allahu Allah Sophia he wants in anyway Sharon, Allah wa to Allah should Iike Tagi Manisha and he was shadow and then the Vienna was the Eden and Mohammed Abu who was Sudha who had died he learned one sallallahu alayhi wa early he was having he was when he was studying was asleep and cathedral.

For the second quarter today, we're going to change topics a little bit and take a break from Sora to the Bacara and discuss something new that you might have seen around the messy. We have names that are going up on the walls of the men's prayer hall. When it's all done, there will be the names of Allah and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam there will be the names of the hola Rashidi Abu Bakr,

Horace Mann and Ali, there will be the names of the fourth of Imams, Abu Hanifa, Malik Shafi and atma.

It reached me that some people were not happy with this addition. And we're concerned about the rulings of such things. I'll try to summarize some of the concerns and address them. One of the frequent things that you hear when issues like this come up is a concern for precedent. The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not do this, or did not say to do this, the Companions regal Allah, Allahu Allah him, never did this in their masajid the seller never did this in their massages. All of this is true. And they were better than us. But when we're talking about halal and haram, when we're talking about permissible and impermissible, we first need to understand the

things we need a precedent for on one hand, and the things that we do not require a precedent for. On the other hand, we need a precedent for something that we intend as a pure act of worship,

to make a certain salah. We can't do it. Unless we have a precedent from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam to celebrate an Eid. We can't do it. Unless we have a precedent from the Prophet alayhi salatu was set up to even claim that doing this act or that act or saying something or this thing has a certain reward in the afterlife. These things can only come from divine revelation. We can't say it or believe it unless there's a precedent from the Prophet Mohammed salah.

Oh ALLAH he was, if we go ahead and do it anyway, that's better. That is innovation in the religion. So if we were to put these names up on the wall, believing that this is a pure specific act of worship, part of the deen of Islam, that Allah azza wa jal revealed to the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. In that case, we would be doing something haram. We would be innovating something into the religion of Allah azza wa jal.

But if something is not a pure specific act of worship, then we do not necessarily need a precedent for it. Even for something related to a pure specific act of worship. I'll give you an example. Microphones. We use microphones for the hookah for the Salah, right in the messy there is no precedent for this act. Are we committing innovation? Are we committing better by using a microphone for the salah? No, because we do not believe that we're using the microphone as a pure specific act of worship. We're only using it to assist in an act of worship. Somebody might say, well, microphones don't count. Because they didn't exist at the time of the Prophet Allah. He said they

never had the opportunity to use a microphone. Okay, fair enough. I'll give you another example. Having the women pray in a separate room, or on a separate level than the men in the masjid.

Did the Prophet Mohammed Allah He said as a sunnah? Have the women pray in a separate room? Or at a separate level in the masjid?

Did the companions

the answer is no. Men and women did not even have separate entrances to the masjid until the reign of armodafinil katapola horn and unlike microphones, they had the opportunity. They could have done it if they had wanted to. They knew how to build walls. They knew how to make buildings, two stories, three stories, four stories. And yet they did not do it. Is this Madonna? What we're doing now? Is it an innovation to make the women or have them pray upstairs? No, it's not humbling. Because we don't believe that making the women pray upstairs is some sort of act of worship, not a specific act of worship. Instead, we see this as assisting as helping another act of worship. We see

this as furthering the broader goals the general principles of the city, such as focusing on the prayer, such as minimizing contact between men and women. Therefore, we don't need a precedent to put names on the wall. It doesn't matter if the Prophet alayhi salatu salam and the companions did not do it. Just as it doesn't matter for using microphones or having the women pray upstairs. Another concern is about decorating the masjid

and the wise use of resources. All of us have worked hard and put our hard earned money into the Masjid. We want to be sure that our money is going to essential things and not wasted Alhamdulillah every single thing in this Masjid that's related to beautification or decoration has been sponsored and paid for by individuals, not taken from money fundraisers, fundraise for everybody.

Another concern people have is beautifying the masjid in an excessive way. Sure enough, the Prophet alayhi salatu salam and the companions were concerned about the excessive beautification of the mesquite rahua Abu Dawood and even the Betsson Allah Allah rasool Allah He sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, a metal minitool be Tashi did a massage. All of them are best led to Zachary Fenn led to Zachary, Pune. Her comas come as up Rafa Talia who won the surah Abu that would have narrated that the Prophet alayhi salatu salam said, I have not been ordered to make the masajid excessively expensive. If an ibis Radi Allahu Anhu the narrator of this hadith commented, you will excessively

beautify the masajid just like the Jews and the Christians did to their places of prayer. In another Hadith on Ennis, and an abuse of Allahu alayhi wa salam called Lhasa Kusatsu. Hatha Yoga nasil filmer surgeon pro whoever they would want to say you have no matter the last hour the Day of Judgment will not come until the people compete in decorating the masajid what uh, whoa, whoa, well Bukhari on anisum pneumatic yet the homeowner behalf DOMA Allah yeah Maroondah Illa kalila. And as again, the narrator of the Hadith he comments that he said they will compete in decorating the masajid but after that, they won't even spend much time in them. The commentary of even our best

an NS indicate that the concern is not just for the decoration of the Masjid. But what it might reveal about our priorities, the priorities of the Muslims, if decorating the masjid comes at the expense of worshiping in the masjid, if our priority is impressing people in the dunya, and not impressing the angels with our righteousness and our worship, that's when we've got it all wrong. On the other hand, on the other hand, a certain amount of decoration makes the masjid and attractive place to be in, it actually inspires people to come, we experienced this firsthand, we feel the difference between this mist, and the one that we had previously, especially for the children,

investing in making the messy, beautiful, up to a certain extent, contributes to how they feel about the mystery. So we're left with trying to strike a balance between making the mess sheet and inspiring place to be in without falling into excessive decoration that the Companions talked about how much is too much. There are things that serve no other purpose than to look nice chandeliers and things like that, for example. Other things have more than one purpose. They look nice, yes. But they're meant to remind us of something important. And the names are an example of this. What is the right balance? How much is too much? That is something where different people are going to have

different perspectives, we should expect, and plan that there's going to be different opinions within our community about that proper balance. And we ask Allah azza wa jal for supper, and he died. Some people have suggested that instead of these names, we should have put the names of Allah instead. Or if it's from the Koran, or sayings from the Hadith or do it. Interestingly enough, many of the other maps are more opposed to putting the names of Allah or ayat of the Quran on the wall of a messier than they are for other things. Since, in addition to all the previous concerns we have mentioned, we now have the added concern of profaning something that is sacred, exposing it to dirt

and to wear and tear and things like that.

A final concern people have about putting anything on the wall is distracting people while they're praying. And this is the strongest reason to be frank to oppose putting anything on the walls color unlock or the Allahu Anhu akin and now Samia no matter what a yakka and to her mirror, to Sephora,

the test and a nurse Amara, the Allahu Anhu he said when he expanded the masjid, the prophets Masjid during his reign, protect the people from the rain, and don't make it red or yellow so that people will be tested. Ahmad brought the Allahu Anhu was concerned that if the ceiling or the walls were made red or yellow, that it would be a test for people that it would distract them. Many of the scholars hold that putting any writing on the wall specifically writing in the direction of the Qibla is mcru is discouraged. According to this opinion. If we were to remove these names Allah azza wa jal would reward us for that. But if we kept it then Alhamdulillah there is no sin. People can be

distracted by anything. Even if we had plain walls and a plain carpet at the end of the day, the Masjid should do what it can to ensure a peaceful place where people can focus on their prayers. And everyone who uses the masjid should do what they can to focus regardless of what's going on around them. But it would be a mistake to make this issue a reason to separate yourself from the mischief or to stop attending the masjid or to start going to another masjid or to go build another Masjid. If we are going to separate and split up over issues this small I guarantee you there will never be an end to separating and splitting up even Fujiyama Rahim Allah fought the jihad, behind Salah

Medina, you will be to liberate Palestine from the Crusaders, and they had vast differences in Arpita. This sort of thing is much less significance. And it should not be given too much importance in an era that we live in, where our kids know the starting 11 of their favorite soccer teams. But don't know the 10 companions promised paradise in an era where our children's struggled to name than the Buddha or Rashidi in the for righteous full of thought after the prophets of Allah Holliday who was in an era where even the adults know very little about the 450 Imams and the valid differences of opinion between them. I

I was having a conversation with someone. They said to me Hanafi is that like she are.

In an era when people are pulled towards sectarian thinking there are people who still call this Masjid the Pakistani Masjid. This is the context we're in today. And this is the intention behind putting these names up on the wall that someone can come in to this masjid and know exactly what we're about. We're about Allah's book, the Quran, we're about the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, we're about the understanding of the companions, for most among them, the whole of our Rashi deen and respects for the for surviving schools. That's who we are. And that is what we do. The names are intended to be a reminder and a statement of unity. In a time of division. There

are potential dangers. Yes, no one should even come close to thinking that these names are the focal point of their worship. Everyone should strive hard not to be distracted, during the prayer by anything in the masjid, whether it's the names on the wall, the books on the table, the view out the window, or the phone in your pocket, your eyes should be fixed to the spot you will make sujood on the way the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam did himself. At the end of the day, we believe that the potential good outweighs the potential bad and Allah azza wa jal knows best. And if you're not happy with some of the decisions that are taken in the masjid, the solution is not to leave the

masjid and go somewhere else. The solution is not to go and make your own message. When Allah azza wa jal commanded us to be together, the solution is to get involved. The solution is to volunteer the solution. If you're not happy with something, nominate other people in the next election. Step up yourself in the next election to be nominated. And at the very, very least, you need to be a member of the message. You need to be able to power the vote so you can make affect the decisions that are being made. How can you expect to have any input when you're not involved? The solution is to be part of the conversation before the decisions are made. Everyone in this room should be a

member of the messy. Everyone in this room needs to be ready to contribute. Everyone in this room needs to get involved. We have a lot of work to do together.