13 January 2012 Burton, Michigan
Jumu`ah Khutbah at As-Siddiq Mosque
We thank Allah for his favors, hidden and apparent and we thank him for all things and we thank him to be from the Nation of Sayyidina Muhammad (s)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَكُونُواْ مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ
Yaa ayyuhalladheena aamanoo ittaqoollaaha wa koonoo ma` as-saadiqeen.
O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are pious (in word and deed).
(Surat at-Tawbah, 9:119)
O Muslim brothers and sisters! Allah (swt) has ordered us to have taqwa in our hearts, to examine everything we do: will it make Allah happy or unhappy? Someone with taqwa tries to avoid what Allah doesn’t like and to perform what He likes, which shows if we are sincere or insincere. You might be sincere to your friend or to dunya, but Allah (swt) wants you to be sincere towards Him.
الدني جيفة و طلابها كلابها
Ad-dunya jeefatun wa tulaabuhaa kilaabuhaa.
The world is a carcass and those who seek it out are dogs. (Hadith)
Dogs and hyenas run after a smelly carcass, although sometimes if you put smelly meat in front of a dog or cat, they will not eat it. Dunya is like a dead carcass and those who run to bite it are like dogs. That is a warning to be careful, to not put too much love of dunya in your heart or you will then forget love of akhirah! Those who love dunya so much have monopolized everything in the world, and they raise or drop prices when they like, only to bankrupt others.
“Adil,” justice, is to be just in all matters: with yourself, your family, your community, and with your country, so you deal with every matter in front of you justly. You cannot be against justice, not even towards yourself. If you feel a particular action will make you look bad, don’t do it. That is taqwa: to keep what Allah likes and leave what He dislikes.
Allah (swt) gave us something like a rocket, to push us up towards His taqwa, something very simple: the first revelation. Were it not important, it would not be the first ayah. What did Allah (swt) say? Iqra! “Read!” And what follows? bismi rabbika, “In the Name of your Lord, say ‘Bismillah’!” It means, say “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.” So between these two letters, the “ba” and “alif,” all Creation is created, and that Allah (swt) put every knowledge in “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.”
Abu Hurayrah (r) narrated from the Prophet (s):
كل أمر ذي بال لا يبدأ فيه ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم فهو أقطع أو (فهو ابتر)
kullu amrin dhi baalin laa yabtada bi Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem fa huwa aqta` aw fahuwa abtar.
To act on any matter that comes to your mind that does not begin with "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem" is cut off.
If any action does not begin with “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem,” whatever you do or think will have no barakah! It means everything that comes to your mind, whether it is important or not, must begin with “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.” When you step out of our into your house, when you make wudu, say “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.” When you pray, recite “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah,” and this renews your faith, and then you enter your prayer.
This is why some madhhabs, schools of Islamic thought, such as the Shafi`i madhhab, say you must recite “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem” aloud because it is a verse of Holy Qur'an, while the Hanafi madhdhab says it is not it part of al-Fatihah, but recite it silently.
عن جابر بن عبد الله قال: لما نزل ( بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ ) هرب الغيم إلى المشرق وسكنت الرياح ،وهاج البحر وأصغت البهائم بآذانها، ورجمت الشياطين من السماء، وحلف الله تعالى بعزته وجلاله أن لا يسمى اسمه على شيء إلا بارك فيه
idhaa nazal bismillahi 'r-rahmaani 'r-raheem harab al-ghaym ila ’l-mashriq wa sakanat ar-reeyaahu wa haaja ’l-bahru wa asghat al-bahaa’im bi-adhaanihaa, wa rujamiti ’sh-shayaateen, min as-samaa’i wa halafa ’Llahu ta`ala bi-`izzatihi wa jalaalihi an laa yusama ismuhu `ala shayin illa baaraka feeh.
When “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem” was revealed (when Holy Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet), that was known to all Creation around the universe (and) the wind ran away to the east. (The wind felt, “Now Allah (swt) is revealing something great to human beings, so let me run (freely), if I am not going to say ‘Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem’.”) As the wind moved it said, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem” and also became calm, and the ocean began to have big, stormy waves, and the animals opened their ears to hear, “Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.” The ocean was afraid and its waves crashed, signalling, “Yaa Rabbee! Don’t punish us!” (Yes, oceans can be punished, if Allah (swt) were to take them out of the universe), and devils were stoned from the Heavens and Allah (swt) gave an oath to Himself, “Anyone who reads ‘Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem’ on anything, Allah will give barakah in that thing.” (Ibn Mardawayh)
O Muslims! "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem" saves us from many things. When you say "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem," Allah will give barakah in whatever you do.
عن عبد الله بن مسعود قال: (من أراد أن ينجيه الله من الزبانية التسعة عشر فليقرأ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ فإنّها تسعة عشر حرفا ليجعل الله له بكل حرف منها جنة من كلّ واحد)
`an ibn Mas`ood qaala: man araada an yanjiyahullah min az-zabaaniyyata’t-tisa`ta `ashara fal-yiqraa Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem fa innahaa tisa`ta `ashara harfan li-yaj`alillahu lahu bi-kulli harfin jannatin (aw junnatin) min kulli waahid.
Ibn Mas`ud (r) related, “Whoever likes to be saved from the nineteen angels that are holding and looking after Hellfire so they do not approach you should recite ‘Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.’” If you want to be saved from those nineteen angels running Hellfire, to keep you out Allah will make from each letter of the nineteen letters of "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem" a Paradise (or a protection) for you! (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Jami` ahkaam al-quran of Imam as-Suyootee)
So every letter will save you from one angel that is responsible for Hellfire; the first letter will save you from the first angel, the second from the second angel, and so on.
إذا قال للصبي قل بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم فقال الصبي بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم كتب الله براءة للصبي وبراءة لوالديه وبراءة للمعلم من النار
And Ibn Abbas (r) narrated a hadith of Prophet (s): idhaa qaala lis-sabee qul bismillahi ’r-rahmaani ’r-raheem kataballahu bara'atun lis-sabee wa bara'atun li-waalidayhi wa bara'atun li'l-mu`allim min an-naar
And it is related from Ibn `Abbas (r) that the parents who send their young children to memorize the Holy Qur'an at age five, six, or seven years, the first time he says, "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem,” because the child is innocent, Allah (swt) saves the parents from Hellfire and gives them clearance, bara`ah. So teach your children to say "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem," but first teach yourself to say it as many people don’t recite this on every `amal. May Allah (swt) give us the barakah of "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem" on everything we do.
وعن النبيّ الأكرم محمد (صلى الله عليه وسلّم)، قال: من قرأ {بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ}كتب اللّه له بكلّ حرف أربعة آلاف حسنة، ومحى عنه أربعة آلاف سيئة، ورفع له أربعة آلاف درجة.
wa `an an-Nabi al-akram Muhammad sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallama qaal: man qaraa’ Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani ‘r-Raheem katab-Allahu lahu bi-kulli harfin arba`ti alf hasanatin wa muhiyy `anhu arab`ti alf sayyiatun wa raf`a lahu arba`ti alf darajah.
And the last hadith: “Whoever recites ‘Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem’ on something, on each letter Allah will write four-thousand rewards and erase for him four-thousand sins and raise him up four-thousand levels towards Paradise.”
O Muslims! Remember to say "Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem" and we will be saved in this life and the Next. Ya fawzan li ’l-mustaghfireen istaghfirullah.