Jumu`ah Khutbah at As-Siddiq Mosque
(...) Ayyuhal-muminoon al-haadiroon ittaqoollah wa ati`oohu, inna Allah ma` alladheena attaqoo walladheena hum muhsinoon.
Alhamdulillah alladhee khalaqana muslimeen wa sharafanaa an nakun min ummat Muhammad `alayhi afdal as-salaat wa ’t-tasleem.
Praise be to Allah that He created us as believers and that He made us to be among ummati Muhammad!
People today join a lottery to be accepted as immigrants in this country.They fill applications and try their best to be accepted because they feel there is work, peacefulness and freedom in this country. Similarly in Europe and Canada they fill applications to become immigrants, and if they are accepted they are so happy.
What do you think about when Allah willed us to be from ummat an-Nabi (s)? That is an honor! He said, “You are the best nation sent to humanity.” So from the beginning Allah (swt) honored Muslims and believers. We didn’t need a nation: He chose us! So that deserves us to be in sajda of shukr every moment! Others are not honored to be from ummat an-Nabi; they are from different nations.
On Judgment Day, all prophets with their nations will come to Sayyidina Muhammad (s) to ask for his intercession, and he already interceded on behalf of all prophets with their nations that are from ummat an-Nabi, and they entered Paradise! What a great honor Allah (swt) dressed us with! But our minds don’t think like that; rather, we think about coming to this country. Muslims come to the masjid and ask, “Please pray for us to win the lottery, so we can be from the American/ French/ Italian/ Arab nation!” But they don’t pray that Allah (swt) makes them from the nation of Muhammad (s).
We are not perfect, and our imperfection makes us listen to our desires sometimes, not to Allah's orders. We want to fulfill our ego's orders first, and that is what we are seeing everywhere now. The Prophet (s) came with holy orders, Islam and Holy Qur'an, and you are from his nation!
You need to know your religion well to prepare for your safety, just as if you have a fancy house full of jewelry you buy a safe box and install an alarm system, to prepare your safety from thieves. Then you check that alarm system daily to be sure it is working.
Prophet (s) is a perfect human being to whom Allah (swt) gave the Holy Qur'an, as he Muhammad “al-Amin,” the Trustworthy One who safeguards all the secrets Allah (swt) gave him.
Sometimes the author of a book will give you a copy as a gift and you begin to analyze what is written “between the lines.” The Holy Qur'an is more than a book; it contains ma`arifatullah, knowledge of Allah (swt), so you need an alarm system to safeguard that treasure. Allah (swt) made you from ummat an-nabi and then perfected you with obedience to worship Him as He likes, and therefore Shaytan has to attack this ummah as much as possible to steal the jewels, which is our worship! Prophet (s) gave you the alarm system.
Prophet (s) was enough for Sahaabah (r) to be alarmed; seeing him was enough to make them keep their discipline and obedience, as he was always with them and seeing them. Prophet (s) said, “The best of centuries is mine, then the one that follows, and then the one after that.” After that, Muslims began to question and debate each other and people became more ignorant. When Imam Shafi`i (r) was in Baghdad, he completed his school of thought, which took many years. When he went to Egypt, he saw they were more corrupt than the people of Baghdad. Therefore, he modified his madhhab according to the need.
Now we have an alarm system telling us to be careful. In many ahadeeth, Prophet (s) has alarmed us by predicting the Signs of the Last Days, and told us to be careful and watchful as these coming events will be dangerous. So it is imperative that we turn on the alarm, which is to learn these ahadeeth. If you wish to shut it down, you may, as it is already shut, but if you would like to turn the alarm system on, read these ahadeeth of the Prophet (s)! From many, I chose some to mention today.
In this hadith, Prophet (s) is warning us about what we are going to see:
`an Abu Hurayrah qaal, qaala rasoolullah, simfan taani min ahl an-naar. qawmun ma`ahum seeyatin ka`adhnabi ’l-baqar yadhriboona bihaa ’n-naas.
There will be two different groups from the people of Hellfire: there will be people with belts or sticks like a whip, or like the tail of the ox (and) they will be beating people with it.
SubhaanAllah, today we see this on television daily! Whether they are right or not, it is not our business to analyze and say who is right or wrong; that is not for us; Allah (swt) has put authorities and governments for that purpose. However, the hadith is clear: “There are people with whips like leather belts or canes with which they beat others.” And now because of the recent changes in Tunisia and the Arab world, security officials there use sticks or canes like those mentioned to beat people (without provocation or legitimate precedent.)
And so the Prophet (s) spoke of such people, which the Egyptians call “bandakjiyya,” and many other words, and he alarmed us that this time will come! So we must learn the ahadeeth of the Last Days in order for our alarm system to be on.
In the same hadith, Prophet (s) continued:
wa nisaaun kaasiyaatun `aariyaat, roo'usahunna kaasneematil bakht al-maaeela, laa yadkhulnal jannah, wa laa yajidna feeha raeehata, wa laa jajidna raeehataha feeha.
Naked women will go everywhere and become the heads of communities. Their hair is piled high on their heads like the Bactrian camels’ humps and they wear abnormal dresses.
This is what we are seeing today in every country, even in the strictest Muslim countries in the Arabian Gulf! Prophet (s) put an alarm for us so that we may be careful and now we are seeing people beating others in front of our eyes, and women described as this.
In another hadith Prophet (s) said:
`an thawbaan, qala rasoolullah yushak ul-umamoo an tatada`a.
For sure, there is coming a time when strong nations are going to fall down.
Who could ever say that one day Egypt would fall down? No one! Forget about Tunisia and other countries; Egypt is called, Umm ad-Dunya, “Mother of the World.” The entire Western world and the East looks to Egypt! When its officials and institutions say one word, Arab and Muslim countries follow it. Nevertheless, Prophet (s) said, “A time is coming when powerful countries will fall down.” That is something no one can imagine, not even the people of Egypt.
These nations are going to fall on you, and you will be the victims. We see today hundreds and thousands of victims as a result of the collapse of these big nations. There is a custom in most Arab countries that they eat together from on big plate or tray, and many hands take from the same plate. Similarly, many people are going to fall into that tray of food, that greed of power, from wanting a piece of the pie. So after what happened in Egypt (uprising removed Hosni Mubarak from power), as described in general in the hadith, hundreds of parties are trying to put their hands to eat from that food, to win the elections as they do not want to be left outside the table. They are salivating due to their excessive hunger for power and control, and their hunger wants them to be part of what they see.
One person said to the Prophet (s), wa min qillatin nahnoo yawmaidhin, “They are running to eat from it and we are falling down. Is it because we are so few in number?” Prophet (s) said, “No, but on that day you will be katheer, too many in number, but you are ghuthain ka ghutha as-sayl, like the foam on the white water of a river when it rushes; you are empty inside. You are too many, but like a river taking everything in front of it, you will not establish anything, and Allah (swt) will remove fear from the hearts of your enemies, who will not be afraid of you.”
That means no enemy will be afraid of you and they are going to eat each other. Hands are coming from every direction to take a piece of the cake. Foreigners are coming to take everything and leaving you with nothing.
Prophet (s) said:
Allah (swt) will throw in your hearts al-wahn. And one person asked, “What is ‘al-wahn’ that Allah will throw in our hearts?” Prophet (s) said, “It is to love dunya and to dislike death.”
Everyone is now running to put their hands on that cake as they love dunya. No one wants Akhirah or thinks that one day we will return to our Lord. If Arab leaders actually believed one day they are going to die (and give an account to Allah), they would never be like that! May Allah forgive us.
According to Ibn Mas`ud (r), the Prophet (s) said:
Your leaders will increase and there will be too many princes and hundreds of parties.
In all these countries, all of them declare they are princes, in order to take over. The Prophet (s) said, “Don't look at dunya, look forward to akhirah.”
May Allah write us as among those who love akhirah with His awliya.
[Du`a]