Yassir Fazaga – Jummah Khutbah 27-12-2024
AI: Summary ©
The conversation between a man and his son covers the concept of "oh my dear son" in the Bible, acknowledging that certain behavior may happen. The Quran acknowledges that such behavior may happen, but it also acknowledges that it may happen. The discussion also touches on the lack of an American parent and living alone, as well as parenting and being a good parent. The segment emphasizes the importance of situational ethics and parenting, as well as a fundraiser and discussion of parenting and being a good parent.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah, the
Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah.
Come to prayer.
Come to success.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
There is no god but Allah.
Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the
Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah.
And may His peace and blessings be upon
our beloved Prophet Muhammad.
We bear witness that no one is worthy
of worship but Allah.
And we bear witness that Muhammad is indeed
his final Messenger.
The best of speech is the Book of
Allah.
The best of guidance is the guidance of
Muhammad.
May Allah make us amongst those who listen
to the best of speech, the Book of
Allah, and follow its commandments.
And may Allah make us amongst those who
come to know the best of ways, the
way of Muhammad.
And make us amongst his followers.
Allahumma ameen, Allahumma ameen, Allahumma ameen.
O beloved of the Messenger of Allah, may
his peace and blessings be upon him.
May we be content with what we started
from the words of Luqman with his son.
Good to see a lot of young people
with us.
May Allah protect our families.
May Allah keep our families on the right
path, O Lord of the worlds.
The blessings of Allah are many for the
servants, and the greatest are the blessings of
the children.
He said that indeed the blessings of Allah
upon us are many and numerous.
The best of them would be good, righteous
children.
May Allah grant us good, righteous children, O
Lord of the worlds.
So the Quran documents, as we've said before,
this conversation that takes place between a very
wise man, Luqman, and his son.
We see Luqman speaking to his child.
As parents, we want what is best for
our children.
And Allah presents to us an example of
all the millions upon the billions of parents
who spoke to their children and gave them
advice.
Allah chooses this man and tells us to
specifically pay attention to him because he is
a wise man.
And because he is a wise man, something
good is going to come out of it.
So as much as our own advice to
our children is appreciated, listen to what this
wise man has to teach.
And remember, when Luqman spoke to his son,
admonishing him.
And we said this is so beautiful because
the Quran uses the word ya'id.
And that is a way of speaking that
appeals both to the heart as well as
to the mind.
If you speak to the mind only, you
run the risk of being too dry.
If you speak to the heart only, you
run the risk of being irrational.
So the man spoke and he is simultaneously
appealing to the heart as well as appealing
to the intelligence.
And he said to his son, oh my
son.
The Quran uses a word here, Luqman uses
this word, oh my dear son.
And we said that this is a term
of endearment.
And it is to be said to your
child, regardless of how old they may be.
And listen to this.
See in psychology today we are taught that
the way we speak to our children becomes
their inner voice.
The way we speak to our children becomes
their inner voice.
So the point here is the Quran is
not trying to make a short story long.
To the contrary, every single statement, every single
word in that story, in this conversation matters.
He said, my son, my dear son.
Pay attention to the tone of the voice.
Say that the tone of the voice that
we use helps us communicate with people better.
Build rapport.
In fact, the tone of our voice makes
people either willing to listen to us or
decide that they do not want to listen
to us.
So he begins and he speaks in such
a way that is inviting.
Comes across as an approachable parent.
He said, my son, do not associate anyone
with Allah.
Do not associate others with Allah.
Do not love anyone more than you love
Allah.
Do not deem anybody more important than Allah.
The most important relationship that you have is
your relationship with Allah.
My son, make sure that you do not
associate any others with Allah.
Love this young sister.
She called and she said, Sheikh, I work
in this place.
And a good young man has approached me.
And he has a liking.
He has taken a liking to me.
And I made it clear to him that
I am a Muslim.
If anything were to happen between you and
me, you would have to be Muslim.
In addition to that, you would also, we
would have to be married.
He said, I am going to consider studying
Islam.
The man studies Islam.
Comes back after a few months.
In the meantime, he met her parents.
And the parents liked him.
And they reiterated what their daughter told him.
You seem to be a good man.
But, where we come from, what we believe
in, marriage is not just two people getting
married.
It's a spiritual journey where people hold hands
and they have the same goal and they
have the same aim.
You would have to be a Muslim.
And just on the side, it is very
possible that sometimes because of proximity, people end
up taking a liking to somebody that does
not necessarily share their faith.
The Quran tells us this.
وَلَا تَنْكِحُ الْمُشْرِكَاتِ وَلَا أَمَةٌ مُؤْمِنَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن
مُشْرِكَةٍ وَلَوْ
أَعْجَبْتُمْ Do not marry polytheist, unbelieving women until
they believe.
A believing born woman is better than an
unbelieving woman even if she dazzles you.
Even if you admire her.
And the same thing is said, do not
marry polytheist men even if they dazzle you.
The Quran speaks about this possibility.
That Muslims and non-Muslims may have mutual
attraction and likeness to one another.
The Quran is not encouraging this behavior.
The Quran is acknowledging that such a thing
may happen.
So she comes back and she said, Sheikh,
he's a good man.
He's very kind.
He's very nice.
He's very decent.
And if I am being very honest, I
really, really like him.
Six months goes by and the man comes
back.
Family is inquiring.
He said, you know, I've studied Islam, but
at this point, Islam is really not for
me.
Called the sister, a young girl, and I
said, how are you doing?
She said, Sheikh, I'll be honest with you.
I love this man.
She said, I honestly loved him.
I loved him a lot.
But then here's what she said.
I loved him so much, Sheikh, but I
love Allah more.
May Allah bless this sister.
Wallahi, may Allah compensate her with something better.
What happened?
She said, I do love him, but I
have been taught, Do not associate others with
Allah as much as I loved him.
But I love Allah more.
I have been taught, Do not associate anyone
with Allah.
And then Allah interjects, the Quran interjects.
See, part of do not associate others with
Allah, is that we respect what Allah has
deemed sacred.
And we have been joined upon man, man
or woman, humans, especially believers.
Be good to your parents.
Be dutiful to your parents.
And then the Quran says specifically, be good
to your mother.
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was approached by a
man.
He said, Prophet of Allah, of all the
people, who's most entitled to my good, best
company?
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, your mother.
Then the man said, who's next, Prophet of
Allah?
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, Ummuk, your mother.
And for the third time, the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam is asked, and who comes after
that?
He said, your mother.
And then after the fourth time, the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, your mother.
She bore you, fathers cannot do that.
She delivered you, fathers cannot do that.
She nursed you, fathers cannot do that.
So Allah said, take care of your parents.
To all the young people here, like we
said, may Allah bless you all.
Wallahi, there is nothing more that absolutely fills
us with joy, like young people coming to
the masjid.
Absolutely love to see a masjid full of
young people.
Part of our deen is that you be
good to your parents.
You know that saying?
You always look up to your parents, no
matter how tall you have grown.
Your parents, you always look up to them,
no matter how tall you have grown.
You always look up to them.
I was reading on, you know, we have
a national institute here for aging.
Be surprised to learn that 27% of
Americans who are 60 years or older live
by themselves.
They live alone.
That is one in every four people who
are over the age of 65 living alone.
Remember, there is nothing wrong with being alone,
but there is definitely something wrong with being
lonely.
And parents don't deserve this.
Parents do not deserve this.
So part of our deen, Allah SWT said,
if you truly believe, do not associate others
with Allah SWT.
He said, respect what Allah has deemed to
be sacred.
But then as if the Quran is anticipating
people asking questions.
What if my parents are not really that
good?
What if my parents did not do me
good?
What if my parents are even polytheists?
What if my parents are forcing me?
He said, revere thy parents.
And even if they endeavor, وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ عَلَىٰ
أَن تُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ
فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا Revere thy parents.
And if they endeavor to force you to
associate that which you have no knowledge of
with me, فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا Do not listen to
this.
That's not a command to be obeyed.
But then immediately the Quran says, وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي
الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا But as far as this world,
your company to them must be a good
one.
See, and please don't be offended by this.
Not every parent is a good parent.
May Allah save us, O Lord of the
worlds.
But chances are, not every parent has been
a good parent.
And what's beautiful about this in the Quran,
the Quran does not force people and say,
you must love your parents.
The Quran doesn't say that.
The Quran says, be good to your parents.
By virtue of being parents, you are obligated
by Allah to be good to them, irrespective
of what it is that they have done
to you.
And that is something.
It's a very liberating idea, by the way.
If you think about it, it's very liberating.
The Quran does not say that you must
love them.
The Quran says, you must be good to
them.
وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا You must, in this
life, in this world, your company to them
must be a good one.
And then Luqman moves on with his son.
He wants good for his son.
So now he spoke to him about the
most important relationship, and that is the relationship
that he has with his Creator.
And then he moves on, Allah interjects, the
Quran interjects to tell him about the second
most important relationship, and that is the relationship
with your parents.
And now Luqman comes back, and he is
reminding his son of the third most important
relationship, and that is the relationship with yourself.
You have to have a good relationship with
yourself.
See, in the Hadith, the Prophet ﷺ taught,
مَا نَحَلَ وَالِدٌ وَلَدًا مِن نَحْلٍ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ
حُسْنِ أَدَمٍ Prophet ﷺ said, There is no
gift for a parent to give to their
child.
والد في لغة العرب تطلق على الأم وعلى
الأب There is no gift that a parent,
mother or father, that they may pass on
to their child, son or daughter, that is
as virtuous as حسن أدب.
Good manners.
Good character.
He said the best gift that you can
pass on to your children is to teach
them this notion of حسن أدب.
Well behaved.
People who have, you know, they are ethical.
They're good, they're good.
They've been taught well.
He said that is the best gift that
a parent may give to his child.
Well, how do you do that?
Luqman takes us through some of this.
He begins by saying, make sure you have
a good relationship with Allah.
Allah tells him, make sure that you have
a good relationship with your parents.
Allah through Luqman tells us to pay attention
to the way that we speak to our
children because the way that we speak to
our children is going to become their inner
voice.
How did my parents talk to me?
Pay attention to that.
And then Luqman tells him, يا أبني إنها
إن تكم ثقال حبة من خردل فتكم في
صخرة أو في السماوات أو في الأرض يأتي
بها الله He said, my son, whatever that
you do, even if it be hidden inside
a rock, even if it may be floating
some way in the open, even if it
may be hidden under the earth, Allah is
fully aware of it.
They say that the worst lies that we
tell are the lies that we tell ourselves.
They said, son, you can fool me.
You can fool this and you can fool
that, but never think that you can do
this with Allah.
Ultimately, we want our children to become their
own policemen and to become their own policewomen.
I can't be everywhere.
I can't be following them here.
I cannot be following them there.
So what am I going to do?
The best thing is to teach this idea
of part of not associating others with Allah
is to have a personal relationship with Allah,
a relationship that should impact you positively because
if what you believe in does not impact
how you behave, then what you believe in
is not important.
So I said, my son, he said, see,
you can fool your parents.
You can fool dad.
You can fool mom.
But ultimately, he said, that's not it, my
son.
Whatever that you do, innaha intakum ifqala habbatim
min kharda See, it can be as small
as anything.
A mustard seed.
It can be inside a rock.
Floating anywhere in the universe.
It can be hidden under the earth.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is aware of
it.
But then you have to love the way
that Luqman introduces Allah to his son.
innallaha latifun khabeer Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is latif and Allah is fully aware.
See, sometimes this idea of latif is you
can get your way through.
latifun khabeer You know, many times you can
tell that something is stuck somewhere, but you
can't get to it.
You have the khabeer.
You have the knowledge.
You are aware of it being there.
I can't get to it though.
I see it, but I can't get to
it.
He said, that's not the case with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah is aware of it.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can also get
it.
So do not think that you can fool
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Then he goes on to say, So
this idea of when people pay attention to
their salah, their life straightens up.
I love it when young people come and
they be talking about their college schedule.
And in their college schedule, they make sure
that, you know what, I cannot take classes
on Fridays between 11 and 2, because that's
Jum'ah time, and I need to be
attending Jum'ah.
May Allah bless these children, Ya Rabbul Alamin.
That's beautiful to hear.
When people say that, I take these classes,
but I want to make sure that, you
know what, I have time to come and
do my salah.
Love the story.
This young girl got a job at McDonald's.
And, you know, she spoke to the manager
and everything went well and she got the
job.
And her friend is asking her later on,
she said, well, did you tell them about
your prayer schedule?
Because, you know, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha, they
come very close, especially in the winter time.
And the girl looked at her and she
said, I didn't.
I was afraid that I may not get
the job.
And the young girl said, you know, I'll
get a job and I will show you.
Applies at the same place.
Manager meets with her.
They like her and they said, you got
the job.
Is there anything that you want us to
know?
She said, yes.
At this time, I need to take a
break, because this is when I do my
prayers.
She said, I started working.
And when it was time for salah, the
manager would come to me and he would
say, it's prayers time.
May Allah bless these kids.
When you've got your salah in order, it's
so that your life becomes in order.
May Allah increase us in understanding.
I say this and ask Allah to forgive
me and you.
So forgive him.
Indeed, he is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
You know, then Luqman, speaking to his son,
reminds him about how do you carry yourself
when you are in public?
What kind of a person are you?
What we call nowadays situational ethics.
What about your adab?
How do you handle yourself when you are
in public?
Do you know how to behave according to
this and according to that?
Because we do have a problem nowadays.
People who may be growing in their years,
but they have not really matured.
See, young men in their 30s and 40s,
addicted to video games.
You see women who are grown women, yet
they behave like they are young girls.
Nothing wrong with being youthful.
Nothing wrong with displaying a youthful attitude.
But to act kiddish is actually foolish.
So he's teaching his son about this idea
of situational ethics.
Pay attention to your voice.
Pay attention to the way that you talk.
Pay attention to the way that you deal
with people so that you are not becoming
a narcissist.
Because nowadays, we do have an epidemic of
narcissism.
People just care about me, myself, and I,
and they say, that is not healthy.
See, the point here is that if we
want to heal the world, and there are
many issues out there in the world, if
you want to heal the world, begin with
our families.
Begin with our families.
And that's why they say, there is no
such thing as a perfect parent.
Do not become a perfect parent.
Just be a real one.
Just be a real one.
That's really what we want.
Parenting can be beautiful.
Somebody so nicely put it, he said, you
know, in being a parent, I lost my
mind, but I found my soul.
In being a parent, I lost my mind,
but I found my soul.
Because in the process, I got to learn
so much about myself and about those who
are around me.
May Allah protect our families.
May Allah protect our children.
May Allah help us in becoming better parents.
May Allah keep our children away from evil.
May Allah keep evil away from them.
May Allah facilitate for them good friends, good
environments, good families.
And may Allah make them a joy for
our heart in this world, as well as
in the hereafter.
If any of us or our loved ones
are going through difficult times, may Allah ease
our pain.
If any of us or our loved ones
are not feeling well, may Allah grant us
a full and speedy recovery.
If any of us or our loved ones
have lost the way, may Allah bring us
back to His way.
There is no deity worthy of worship except
Allah.
Allah is the greatest.
All praise
is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Master of the Day of Judgment.
It is You we worship and You we
ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path.
The path of those on whom You have
bestowed Your blessings, not of those who have
evoked Your anger or of those who are
astray.
Ameen.
O you who believe!
When the prayer is called on the Day
of Jum'ah, then hasten to the Reminder
of Allah and to the door of al
-Bay'ah.
That will be better for you, if you
only knew.
And when the prayer is called, then disperse
in the land and seek the grace of
Allah.
And remember Allah much, that you may succeed.
And when you see a trade or a
business, then turn to it and leave yourself
standing.
Say, that which is with Allah is better
than the sea and the trade.
And Allah is the best of providers.
Allah is the greatest.
Allah has heard our prayer.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of
the worlds.
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Master of the Day of Judgment.
It is You we worship and You we
ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path.
The path of those on whom You have
bestowed Your Grace, those who have not incurred
Your Wrath, and those who have not gone
astray.
Ameen.
Ameen.
So he says, My Lord, if You had
not delayed me for a near term, I
would have given charity among the righteous.
And Allah does not delay a soul when
its term has come.
And Allah is Aware of what you do.
Allah is the greatest.
Allah has heard our prayer.
Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.
Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.
I wanted to give you an update on
the fundraiser we had a few weeks ago
here.
You guys remember we were short on funds
for operations.
We were short about $100,000 and we
did a fundraiser here.
Alhamdulillah, you guys responded and we were able
to raise about $45,000.
May Allah reward those people that contributed that
day and those that made pledges.
So we are still short by $55,000.
And this is an opportunity for you all
to contribute and to get the hasanat from
Allah.
So this is also the end of the
year.
So you can also deduct it for your
taxes so you get the double reward for
that as well.
So we have right now more than 500
people.
So I have a simple math for you
guys.
So if everybody gave $100, that will be
$50,000.
So that we will be able to reach
our goal, inshallah.
So if you decide to give, you can
use the Mohit kiosk or you can write
a check or give cash.
Jazakumullah khair.
When the formal or official time of prayer
comes in, if you are in a hurry
and you need to pray on your own
or with your small group, by all means
you can do that.
It's better for you to wait for the
jama'ah.
It's better for you to wait for the
jama'ah.
It's actually a lot of reward.
You shouldn't do this unless you have to
really rush.
In that case, you can pray in the
back.
No one is supposed to or allowed to
actually start their own jama'ah here in
the front and call the iqamah and start
their own jama'ah.
You're not supposed to do that.
You're not allowed to do that.
So please keep that in mind, inshallah ta
'ala, brothers and sisters.
If you want to pray on your own
or with your small group, you may do
that in the back.
Only if you have to.
If you don't have to, it's better to
stay and wait for the jama'ah time,
inshallah ta'ala.
Jazakumullah khairan.
Assalamualaikum.