As-Siddiq Masjid Burton, Michigan
Thanks to Allah (swt)! We seek His help and forgiveness from our sins and we seek refuge in Allah (swt) from the evils of ourselves and disadvantages of our wrongs. He who is guided by Allah (swt), cannot be mislead. Praise be to Allah (swt) who has guided us to Islam and we would not have been guided was it not for His guidance for us. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah (swt) alone, with no partner or without parallel in His Will and High Authority; and see in that our Prophet, support and our master Muhammad (s), is His Servant and Messenger. Allah (swt) sent him from the wisest of Arabs, and the most eloquent of language. He has explained the path and advised the creations. May Allah (swt) send peace and blessings upon him and his family and companions, particularly the imams and deputies of God's Prophet (s). His deputies during his time, especially those who have succeeded as imams of the Messenger of Allah (swt), the believers and distinguished ones, Abi Bakr (q), `Umar (r), `Uthman (r) and `Ali, of clearly high ranks, and the rest of the companions and followers. God bless them all.
O Muslims! Kullu ` aamin wa antum bi-khayr. Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar la ilaaha illa-' Llah, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar wa lillaahi 'l-hamd! Allah (swt) likes and loves when His servants say, "Allahu akbar." It means that there is no way to understand the Greatness of Allah (swt). As much as we can think with our mind Allah (swt) is beyond that. As much as we, as normal people, whatever we read in books or inspire to, in our hearts, we get inspirations sometimes that give signs of the Greatness of Allah (swt). That is beyond any greatness. And if this is for normal people, what about scholars? Of course for them they understand higher and higher.What do you think about awliyaaullah? Allahu akbar for them means, that nothing exists in this universe in His presence. All of them disappear in the Presence of Allah (swt). There is nothing except Allah (swt). In the eyes of the Sahaba, in their understanding, Allah (swt) is much more High. In the understanding of the prophets there is no way to describe it. What do you think of the Prophet (s) who went to israa wa 'l-m` iraj? Of qaaba qawsayni aw adnaa? Of knowledge, he was able to see. As many scholars, in different, authentic books of Islam; one of them Imam an-Nawawi in the tafseer of Saheeh Muslim, said that Sayyidina Muhammad (s), "saw his Lord with the eyes of his head." It means physically.
Think about how much Allah (swt) gave Sayyidina Muhammad (s). A body that was able to move in space in this universe. From Mecca, passing through the universes, reaching the first heaven, then the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. Then Jibreel (a) stopped and said, "Yaa Muhammad! You go alone. I cannot move beyond this," and the Prophet (s) went alone, reaching qaaba qawsayni aw adna. So what do you think we can say about the Greatness of Allah (swt)? This means we have no knowledge of the Greatness of Allah (swt). Sayyidina Muhammad (s) went with his body. Today, the world is building spaceships to go 100 kilometers, 100 miles up with some people in it. It needs hours and hours to do that and Sayyidina Muhammad (s), "kun fayakoon," was there. Also, there is security from angels for jinn to not reach to the station.
Passing through all these heavens, Sayyidina Jibreel (a) was there, knocking at the door.
"Who is at the door?"
"Muhammad, Rasulullah."
"Has he been invited?"
"Yes, he has been invited for laylatu 'l-m` iraj."
Allah invited him to come to His Presence. They opened the door and the Prophet entered a place that was not a place, an environment that was not an environment, a universe that was not a universe. It was something that you cannot describe. It has been described in the Holy Qur'an but awliyaullah can extract many of these meanings. The Prophet (s) reached the first heaven and that cannot be described. There was no place empty. It was full with Allah (swt) preparing that for those who believe in His Prophet, Sayyidina Muhammad (s). The second heaven must be better than the first heaven and the third must be better than the second. The fourth better than the third and the fifth and sixth and seventh better than the fourth heaven and Jannat al-Firdaws better than all the seven heavens. And then Prophet (s) kept going. Where he was going? There is no place or we cannot say a direction. It is beyond description.
Allah (swt) has no place , no direction. وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ - Wa huwa ma` akum ayna ma kuntum - He is with you wherever you are. (57:4) Wherever you turn your face there is something that shows His Oneness. Everywhere, you cannot see two that are similar, two that have the same eyes. They read eyes now. You go to the customs, place your eyes. They don't your check passport. Put the stamp on, you are safe. Everyone has a different code, in the thumbs also. Look at Allah's Greatness. That is on earth. What about in the universe? If there are six billion humans on earth what do you think about this universe? How many beings are there that Allah (swt) created? And we don't know. This earth might be a point only in the map of our solar system that Allah (swt) created. Other than this solar system, is there no other creation Allah (swt) created? If we say, "Yes," then we are demeaning the name of Allahu akbar. Allahu akbar means there is no description of how much He is creating; in every moment, there is a creation coming and a creation passing away.
Maaliki yawmi 'd-deen - Owner of the Day of Judgment. There is not one moment that a new creation is coming and another creation has a yawmu 'd-deen, a Day of Judgement. If we say, "One day" we are limiting it. Yes, one day for earth, but for other creations; they also have a yawmu 'd-deen. Allah's greatness cannot be described. So, Allah's mercy on His servants cannot be described. That is why Prophet (s) recommended fasting yesterday, yawmu ` arafah . Today is `Eid al-Adha. On the day of Arafat, all Muslims are gathered on the valley near Mecca saying, لبيك اللهم لبيك.. لبيك لا شريك لك لبيك - labbayk allahumma labbayk, labbayka laa shareeka laka labbayk, إن لك الحمد والملك لا شريك لك - inna 'l -hamda wa'n-n` imata laka wa 'l-mulk la shareeka lak - We are here O our Lord, at Your service, We are at Your service, You have no partner, verily the praise is for You, the favors belong to You, and so is the Dominion, no partner do You have." They say, "Yaa Rabbee, we are so attentive to You. Order us and we will do it. Labbayk allahumma labbayk, labbayk la shareeka laka labbayk, we cannot respond to anyone other than You. Yaa Rabbee, we can't say to anyone but You, 'Yes, we are Your servants.'"
After you show your servanthood on the day of Arafat, ninth of Dhul-Hijjah, on the tenth day you say, Allahu akbar; that Allah (swt) is greater than anything you can think about. That is why takbeer, on `Eid al-Adha, the first, second, third and fourth day till Asr, is an obligation. To say, Allahu akbar, Allahu abkar, Allahu akbar, la illaaha illa-Llah, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar wa lillahi 'l-hamd , three times, is to show that you are nothing and that Allah controls everything. There is no existence for you. If you really think you have existence: prevent yourself from dying. What kind of existence do you have? The one who does not die, is existing. Those who die do not have existence; their existence is in the hands of the One Who does not die, al-Hayyu 'l-Baqi, the Alive One, the Ever-lasting. He is Allah (swt).
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (ما من أيام العمل الصالح فيها أحب إلى الله من هذه الأيام), يعني العشر قالوا: يا رسول الله ولا جهاد في سبيل الله, قال: (ولا جهاد في سبيل الله إلا رجل خرج بنفسه وماله فلم يرجع من ذلك بشيء
"`An Jabir (r) qaala, qaala Rasulullahi (s) ma min ayyaam `ind Allaha afdalu min ashrat dhul-hijjah. The Prophet (s) said, "There are no days in the year better than the ten days" of Dhul-Hijjah, the ones we are in now. Today is the last day of that. "Fa qaala rajalun -one man said - hunna afdalu min `iddatihinna jihaadan fee sabeelillah. Are they better than ones where someone went for jihad in the way of Allah (swt)?", defending your nation against aggressors.
Which is better? To go for jihad or these ten days? "Qaala hunna afdalu iddatihinna`ind Allaha min jihaad fee sabeelillah - Those ten days of Dhul Hijjah, (if you observe them), are better than going for jihad."
ما من يوم عند الله – عز وجل - أفضل من يوم عرفه ينزل فيه ربنا إلى السماء فيباهي أهل الأرض وأهل السماء ويقول لملائكته: انظروا هؤلاء عبادي جاءوني من كل فج عميق يرجون رحمتي ولم يروا عذابي
Wa ma min yawmin afdalu `ind Allaha min yawmi arafah. Yanzi 'l -Allahu tabaarak wa t` aala ila 's-samaa 'd-dunya fayubaahi bi ahli 'l-ard , ahl as-samaa fa-yaqool undhuru ila `ibaadi ja'ooni shu` athan, ghubbara daheena ja'ooni min kulli fajjin `ameeq yarjuna rahmatee wa lam yaraw `adhaabee.
There is no day better to Allah (swt) than the day of Arafat. He said, on the day of Arafat, Allah (swt) descends to the first heaven.
That means He manifests, bestows His Beautiful Names and Attributes on the first heaven. And we cannot say that Allah (swt) moves, because Allah (swt) does not move. He bestows to the first heaven and he is so happy with the people of earth.
And He is boasting to His angels, "Look at My servants, they came from everywhere, from all walks of life; they are the same to me, Arab and non-Arab. They are coming, worshipping and calling Me. Look My angels, I forgive them. And they are asking My Mercy and they will not see My punishment." It is narrated by Muslim.
This hadeeth shows how much Allah (swt) is happy with those observing the day of Arafat and the day of `Eid. If you were not able to go for hajj and be there with them then you can fast on the day of Arafat and observe the day of `Eid.
عن أﺑـﻲ ﻗـﺘـﺎدة ﻋـﻦ رﺳــﻮل اﻟـﻠـﻪ ﺻﻠﻰ اﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳـﻠـﻢ اﻧـﻪ ﺳـﺌـﻞ ﻋـﻦ ﺻـﻮم ﻳـﻮم ﻋـﺮﻓـﺔ ﻓﻘﺎل: ﻳــﻜــﻔــﺮ اﻟــﺴــﻨــﺔ اﻟــﻤــﺎﺿــﻴــﺔ واﻟــﺒــﺎﻗــﻴــﺔ.
And Abu Qatadah (r) said that the Prophet (s) said, sawmu yawmu `arafat yukaffirroo sanatayn sanatu 'l-madiyya wa sanatu 'l-qaadimah. The fasting of the day of Arafat, because we were not able to go there and anyone who didn't fast yesterday is a loser. Who fasted yesterday, Allah (swt) will take his sins from the year before and the year to come. Narrated by Muslim. The fast of the day of Arafat will waive the sins of two years, the one that passed and the year that is coming. And sawmu yawmu ` ashoor'a, and don't say we didn't say it, fasting the tenth of Muharram, coming in one month, the day that Sayyidina Husayn (as) was killed. That day the Prophet (s) entered Medina and the Jews were fasting. He asked the reason they were fasting, and they said, "That day Allah saved Sayyidina Musa," (a) and he said, "We have more rights than them on Sayyidina Musa," and that day he fasted. What will happen if you fast on that day? That is day that Sayyidina Husayn was killed. Fasting that day will waive the sins of the year before. So if you fast the on the day of Arafat and the day of `Ashura you will have three years that are forgiven. So two years forgiven before and one year ahead will be forgiven. So, a total of three years, an overlap of one year that passed, means one year of hasanaat, extra.
O Muslims, Allah loves His servants. Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, laa ilaha illa-' Llah, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar wa lillaahi 'l-hamd! that is the greatness of your Lord. He created you and saved you but, you have to accept His Oneness. You cannot associate with Him, no shareek. Allah is the Creator, there is no shareek for Him and Sayyidina Muhammad (s) has no shareek as a servant. No shareek in his level of servanthood, and he is happy to say, "I am Your servant." And no one can be a partner to Sayyidina Muhammad him in his greatness as a servant to Allah (swt)..
The Prophet (s) said and this is narrated by all, Bukhari and Muslim and the rest, يوم عرفة، ويوم النحر، وأيام التشريق عيدنا أهل الإسلام، وهي أيام أكل وشرب ,أيام التشريق أيام أكل وشرب وذكر الله, - an qaala, qaala Rasulullahi (s) yawmu `arafah wa yawmu 'n-nahri wa ayyaamu 't-tashreeq ` eiduna ahl al-islaam wa hiya ayyaamun aklin wa 's-shurbin wa dhikrullah. So the days of Arafat and the days of `Eid are five holy days for ahl al-Islaam, the Muslims. And these five days there must be no work and no school, except for praying, eating, celebrating and being happy. These are days that Allah (swt) is compensating His servant, by eating and being happy and socializing. Don't say, "I want to go to work." Allah's (swt) work is better. Don't say, "I want to go to school." Allah's school is better. These five days Allah (swt) is saying: Do in your limits what you like, as long as you are keeping the Islamic way. People may think that it is their holy day so, "Let's go and drink." There are like that.
وعَنْ سليمان بن صرد رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قال: كنت جالسا مع النبي صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم ورجلان يستبان وأحدهما قد احمر وجهه وانتفخت أوداجه فقال رَسُول اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم: <إني لأعلم كلمة لو قالها لذهب عَنْه ما يجد، لو قال أعوذ باللَّه مِنْ الشيطان الرجيم ذهب عَنْه ما يجد> فقالوا له إن النبي صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم قال تعوذ باللَّه مِنْ الشيطان الرجيم. مُتَّفّقٌ عَلَيْهِ>
Finally, as I said this morning, you must not get angry. Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, Sulaiman bin Harith annahu qaala, kuntu jaalisan ma`an-nabi (s) wa rajulaan yastabaani wa ahadahumu qad ahmar wajhah wa antafakhat awdaajahu. He said, "I was with the Prophet (s) and two men were swearing and cursing each other and one of them, his face became very red, he was very angry. He wanted to do bad, a wrong action and he became puffy from anger." Fa-qaala 'n-nabi (s) innee la'u`allim kalimatan law qaalahaa la-dhahaba `anhu maa yajid . The Prophet (s), how humble he is, said, "I will teach him something that if he says it, it will make his anger go away." That man was not ashamed to be angry in front of Prophet (s). Who can be angry in front of Prophet (s), who is mercy for humanity. Whenever you are angry, you can be sure that Allah (swt) is looking at you and Prophet (s) is looking at you. So stop yourself as they are looking at you, and Allah (swt) is sending Prophet (s) as a mercy for humanity and these people are angry.
Are we going to remember that? It is a hadith of Prophet (s). When you are angry, repeat it. When you are angry with your wife, repeat it. When you are angry with your husband, repeat it. And when you are angry with your children, repeat it. And know that when you are angry Allah (swt) and His Prophet (s) are looking at you. But you have to remember to say it. Prophet (s) said I observe the `amal of my ummah everyday. What did he say? Very simple. Everyone of you knows it but you have to remember to say it, if you are able to say it, because at that time people get orders in their mind, "Say this, say that." It is not hallucination, there is another term for it. If you are disturbed, you get orders in your mind, what is the term? Schizophrenia? They hear things in their ears telling them "Do this!" But if they use what Prophet (s) is telling them, that will go away. At that time Shaytan is coming and whispering in your ears and disturbing you. There is a word in medical terminology. So he said, and now you say it, a'oodhu billaahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. If he will say it, Shaytan will run away and you will not get angry anymore. And he did it, and Shaytan left him.
O Muslims, there are many ways to save ourselves. Fasting on the day of Arafat and on the day of Ashura. Saying a'oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem, and Allah (swt) will save us. Aqoolu qawlee haadha wa astaghfirullahi 'l-azheem lee wa lakum wa li-saa'iri 'l-mustaghfireen fa yaa fawzan li 'l- mustaghfireen, Astaghfirullah. I say this and ask Allah Almighty's forgiveness for me and you, and for all those seeking forgiveness.