Pre-Khutbah Suhbah at Jersey City Islamic Center
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Atee`oollaha wa atee`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:59)
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
يس وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
Yaseen, wa ’l-qur’ani ’l-hakeem, innaka lamin al-mursaleen, `ala siraatin mustaqeem.
Yaseen. By the wise Qur’an, Lo! You are sent on a Straight Path. (Surat Yaseen, 36:1-4)
Alhamdulillah, we are all meeting here another time for Jumu`ah. I am always missing this masjid. I often tell people to let us come to this masjid to pray; it is not necessary to give a lecture, wa'izh, but to see the people again. Alhamdulillah, we are here together at a wonderful time on the day of Jumu`ah. Indeed, Muslims have been honored. These days when people get an invitation from a leader or a respected person, they feel honored. What then do you think about those who have been honored by Allah (swt), Who said in the Holy Qur'an:
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ
Wa laqad karamnaa Bani Adam.
We have honored the Children of Adam. (Surat al-'Israa, 17:70)
Allah honored us all as Muslims! When He created Creation, all were Muslims because the Prophet (s) said:
يولد الانسان على الفطرة وانما ابواه يهودانه او ينصرانه او يمجسانه
Yoolidu al-insaanu `ala ‘l-fitra fa imma abawaahu yuhawwidaanihi aw yunasaraanihi aw yumajjisaanih.
Human beings are born on fitrah, innocence; either his parents make him Jewish or Christian or Zoroastrian. (Muslim)
All the souls in the presence of Allah (swt) were holy in a holy place. So we have been honored, first of all, by being created and were we not created, there would be no honor. Being a human being is an honor and that is why we must always thank Allah (swt) that He created us. That is why He said:
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
La-in shakartum la-azeedanakum.
If you thank Me, I will give you more. (Surah Ibraaheem, 14:7)
But we should not thank Him for dunya only. For example, if someone is wealthy or got cured from an illness, he might say, “Thank you, yaa Rabbee.” However, it is not only for that. We should also thank Him for being here. If we were not created, we would have no knowledge of Allah (swt) and Prophet (s). So Allah has already honored us by creating us, then he honored us to be from Ummat an-Nabi (s) and then He honored us with the Holy Qur’an by revealing it to Prophet (s)!
People might not often think about how Allah has honored us. Al-Qurtubi (q), one of the biggest scholars from the early era, said that the first one to make sajda to Sayyidina Adam (a), what we should know is really sajda to the Light of the Prophet (s) in the forehead of Sayyidina Adam (a), was Israfeel (a). As soon as Allah gave the order, Israfeel (a) immediately went into sajda. It is said that he was then followed by all the other angels and for that reason, Allah (swt) ordered to write the entire Holy Qur’an on his forehead! He is the only one called “`Abdur-Rahman.” Allah ordered the angels to make the sajda of respect and Allah honored him to write the whole Holy Qur’an on his forehead. What then do you think of someone who makes sajda of worship to Allah (swt)? That is a sajda of `ibaadah to Allah, as ordered by Him.
If Allah (swt) wrote the entire Holy Qur’an in the forehead of Israfeel (a), what then do you think will be written for Ummat an-Nabi (s) on their foreheads? Israfeel (a) made one sajda of respect to Sayyidina Adam (a), and how many sajdas are Muslims doing daily? When you count them, they will be too many. For one sajda of respect to Adam (a), Allah wrote the entire Holy Qur’an on the forehead of Israfeel (a). If you are doing forty or fifty sajdas of worship daily to Allah (swt), what do you think will be written on the forehead of mu’mineen? For sure, the Holy Qur’an will be written!
From sajda to sajda, Kalimatullah, the Words of Allah do not change, but the interpretations and the secrets of these Words can change as new secrets will be coming out. The Holy Qur’an is not limited in meanings as it contains Allah's Divine Words. If all these oceans were ink and trees were pens, they would all deplete, but Allah's Words would not! Where then are Allah's Words, where are they hidden? They are hidden in the Holy Qur’an, as they are Allah’s Ancient Words, Kalaamullaahi ‘l-Qadeem, and they are not created. All of these secrets are there in the ayahs with limitless meanings. You cannot say, “This ayah has one or one million meanings,” as they cannot be limited. That is because they are coming from The Essence, Dhaatullah, and these secrets cannot be written.
It is said about Niagara Falls that it produces 50 million gallons of water every second or every minute. Although 50 million gallons is a large amount, it is still within limits, whereas the Divine Words of Allah (swt) are limitless. If a waterfall can pour out this much, what then do you think of the secrets of the Holy Qur’an? Also, what is written in your forehead is not similar to what is being written on the forehead of another, as it is not from a photocopy machine. Every sajda that is written is different from
the previous sajda, so the second sajda is different from the first, the third is different from the second, and so on. Each moment a new secret is written until it stops, which is the moment of death.
When Allah (swt) said, “Yaseen, wa ’l-qur’ani ’l-hakeem,” He made Yaseen, the Prophet (s), and the Holy Qur’an on both sides; that is not different. And as mentioned in a hadith, Surat Yaseen is the heart of Holy Qur'an. So the Prophet (s) is the heart of Holy Qur’an and the heart of Yaseen is Surat al-Fatihah. That means the heart of the Prophet (s) is Surat al-Fatihah. No one knows what is in Surat al-Fatihah. It is enough for us to understand that the first word in this surah is “Alhamdulillah, Glory to Allah.” How much glory no one can understand; hence, no one can reach that level of the Creator. He gives you levels when you recite, “Alhamdulillah.” He will dress you with His Endless Knowledge.
When you say, “al-Khaaliq, The Creator,” that means He is continuously creating as there is no limit
to His Creation. You cannot say that He is not creating, haasha-lillah! And when you say “al-Khaaliq,”
in every heavenly moment He is creating Creation. Where are these creations? If you say that creation stopped, then you are limiting Allah (swt) when He has no limits! Physicists build telescopes in order to see some part of this galaxy, but they cannot see all of it as it is hidden. It is not hidden from Prophet (s)! The entire Holy Qur’an is written on his forehead in a meaning different from what is written on our forehead. Although it is the same language, because Allah’s Words do not change, but the Fountain of Knowledge that comes out from the Prophet (s) makes him an `alim at every moment, meaning that he is the one who gives knowledge!
Allah’s Knowledge never ends, His Knowledge is continuous and He gives continuously. The knowledge He gives is not similar to the knowledge He will give after. What do we think physicists are doing today other than using the Hubble Telescope? I was with the manager of the Hubble Telescope, who is a Muslim, Dr. Nazeer Ahmad. He said, “The power of the Hubble Telescope lens is similar in strength to the power of a lens that can only see from California to New York. And it is small, just ten or fifteen meters in diameter, but if you polish it more, you might be able to see farther.” Although you might be able to see farther after polishing the lens, it would still be within limits. Can we see more from the Holy Qur’an that is written on our forehead? Yes we can, but it is veiled because of the same problem we all have: Nafs al-`Ammaara, the ego that is pushing us to commit sins, and Allah (swt) does not put His Knowledge with sins; it has to be pure and He knows when you are pure and impure.
If you check the entire Holy Qur’an, you will never see that the Prophet (s) used the word anaa, “me.” From “anaa” comes “anaaniyya,” selfishness. Normally, he would either use third person or plural, “we” or “us,” or “Sahaabah” or “Rabbee,” but he never said “I” except in one hadith, and this hadith will show you the continuous unbroken knowledge that the Prophet (s) is getting from Allah (swt) in every moment.
Awliyaullah and `ulama say that in every moment the Prophet (s) is ascending. At every level his ascension is doubled, much like an atomic chain reaction that doubles continuously and reaches everywhere. For instance, the atomic bomb that was thrown on Hiroshima killed 50,000 people and that was still in limits; perhaps a bomb with more strength might kill three or four times that amount. So what about the atomic reaction of the secrets of the Holy Qur’an? It can cover this whole dunya and universe in just one minute with meanings that no one can understand! And that is what led the Prophet (s) to say “I.” We cannot say that Allah (swt) gave him only Mi`raaj, because in reality He gave him what Prophet (s) deserves and only Allah knows how deeply precious the Prophet (s) is to Him!
We don’t say He “invited him,” as it has limits: Allah (swt) didn't invite, because it is a right, a haqq. Allah dressed him that night with the Manifestation that Allah is the Creator and Muhammad (s) is the Creation in all, because all of Creation was created from his Light (s) and for his sake! So it is no longer an invitation; rather, he was called to show what he owns, and only Allah knows to where he was brought. Yet, Allah brought him by ascending through His Universe, and this universe is a creation. It cannot be that Prophet (s) met Allah (swt) in a created place, as He doesn’t appear in a created place and cannot be contained in something created as Allah is above and beyond all of that! So as Prophet (s) ascended, he was able to see what is beyond the telescope or else it would not be an ownership. Let us say that it was an invitation, although (that description) has limits, because Prophet (s) knew the secret behind all Creation. It is said that there are 80 billion stars in our galaxy; Prophet (s) knew their number, their secret, and their heavenly names, as Allah (swt) is saying:
وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى
Wa ’n-najmi idhaa hawaa maa dalla saahibukum wa maa ghawaa. Wa maa yantiqu `ani 'l-hawaa in huwa illa wahyun yoohaa.
By the star when it goes down, your companion is neither astray nor being misled, nor does he say (aught) of (his own) desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him. (Surat an-Najm, 53:1-4)
Prophet (s) never speaks by mistake or from imagination. No! He is given wahiyy in dunya and in Heavens!
Will Allah appear in Heavens? Yes, after Allah (swt) sends Ummat an-Nabi (s) to Paradise, He will appear, but how? Will He appear in a form? No, not in the way Sayyidina Musa (a) asked. Sayyidina Musa (a) was not able to carry the Manifestation of Allah on a mountain. Ummat an-Nabi (s) will see the manifestations, although we cannot discuss too much about that ocean as it has no end or no beginning, but we know that the ummah will see that on the Day of Judgment as Prophet (s) mentioned. And do you think the one who has penetrated all that will say, “Anaa”? No. Prophet (s) said:
أنا مدينة العلم و علي بابه
Anaa madinatu 'l-`ilmi wa `Aliyyun baabuha.
I am the City of Knowledge and `Ali is its Door (or Gate). (al-Haakim, Tirmidhi)
What is that city and what is that knowledge that is there when you are making the sajda of worship to Allah (swt)? And as Allah did for Sayyidina Israfeel (a), that He wrote the Holy Qur’an between his eyes, Allah will order angels to write the entire Holy Qur’an between our eyes with the same words but each time with a different meaning! It will never end and the same meaning will not be given to the other, they will all be different.
How many of us are here today? Perhaps 500 or 1,000. Everyone will get a different knowledge from each sajda they make. This is what Allah (swt) gave to Prophet (s). The leader of a country knows all the problems and all the good things of that country. Prophet (s) is the leader who represents Creation in the Presence of Allah (swt) and the only one who was brought to His Presence. Do you think he will not know about his ummah when all of Creation is created from the Light of Sayyidina Muhammad (s)? The Light of Prophet (s) was created first, then Creation was created from some of that Light, so doesn’t that entire immense Light know what is carried by the rest of Creation?
O Muslims! If we and all of Creation were to thank Allah (swt) day and night, it would not be enough! If you praise Prophet (s) in every moment as Allah ordered in the Holy Qur’an, it would not be enough! We are doing something, but it is blended with lots of negative issues as we are helpless. Still, we are trying to do as much as possible, as Prophet (s) mentioned in a hadith narrated by Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah (r):
عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ يَسَارٍ قَالَ تَفَرَّقَ النَّاسُ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ فَقَالَ لَهُ نَاتِلُ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ أَيُّهَا الشَّيْخُ حَدِّثْنَا حَدِيثًا سَمِعْتَهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ نَعَمْ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ النَّاسِ يُقْضَى يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ اسْتُشْهِدَ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا قَالَ فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا قَالَ قَاتَلْتُ فِيكَ حَتَّى اسْتُشْهِدْتُ قَالَ كَذَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّكَ قَاتَلْتَ لِأَنْ يُقَالَ جَرِيءٌ فَقَدْ قِيلَ ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ وَرَجُلٌ تَعَلَّمَ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمَهُ وَقَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا قَالَ فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا قَالَ تَعَلَّمْتُ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمْتُهُ وَقَرَأْتُ فِيكَ الْقُرْآنَ قَالَ كَذَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّكَ تَعَلَّمْتَ الْعِلْمَ لِيُقَالَ عَالِمٌ وَقَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ لِيُقَالَ هُوَ قَارِئٌ فَقَدْ قِيلَ ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ وَرَجُلٌ وَسَّعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَعْطَاهُ مِنْ أَصْنَافِ الْمَالِ كُلِّهِ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا قَالَ فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا قَالَ مَا تَرَكْتُ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ تُحِبُّ أَنْ يُنْفَقَ فِيهَا إِلَّا أَنْفَقْتُ فِيهَا لَكَ قَالَ كَذَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّكَ فَعَلْتَ لِيُقَالَ هُوَ جَوَادٌ فَقَدْ قِيلَ ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ ثُمَّ أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ
The first of people against whom Judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favors and he will recognize them. (The Almighty) will say, “And what did you do about them?” He will say, “I fought for you until I died a martyr.” He will say, “You have lied! You did but fight that it might be said (of you), ‘He is courageous,’ and so it was said.” Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire!
(Another) will be a man who has studied (religious) knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Qur’an. He will be brought and Allah will make known his His favors and he will recognize them. (The Almighty) will say, “And what did you do about them?” He will say. “I studied (religious) knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Qur’an for Your sake.” He will say, “You have lied! You did but study (religious) knowledge that it might be said (of you), ‘He is learned,’ and you recited the Qur’an that it might be said (of you), ‘He is a reciter,’ and so it was said.” Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire!
(Another) will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known his His favors and he will recognize them. (The Almighty) will say, “And what did you do about them?” He will say, “I left no path (untrodden) in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake!” He will say, “You have lied! You did so that it might be said (of you), ‘He is open-handed,’ and so it was said.” Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire!" (Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i)
O Muslims! This means that we must be careful. We cannot do things and say, “Allah (swt) likes it.” We must evaluate ourselves and see if we are doing it for Allah or for our ego. During one battle, Sayyidina `Ali (r) had a problem in his eye, which is why Prophet (s) instructed him to stay in the tent and not fight. Then a wrestler from the enemy’s side began to taunt him and call him names, saying that he doesn’t want to fight. Prophet (s) was telling Sayyidina `Ali (r) to not go, but he said, “I must go and fight now.” So Prophet (s) placed his holy saliva on his eye and it was cured, and with that he could see what others cannot see.
That is why Prophet (s) said, “Anaa madinatu 'l-`ilmi wa `Aliyyun baabuha.” Sayyidina `Ali (r) then went to duel with the enemy and put him down. As he pinned the wrestler on the ground and was prepared to kill him, the wrestler spat in the face of Sayyidina `Ali (r), who threw down his sword and refused to kill him. That man said, “You have to kill me,” as that was the discipline and the rules of war in that time. Do they have discipline in war now? No! There is no longer any discipline in wars between Muslims and non-Muslims or between Muslims. In earlier days, they used to have chivalry. There is no such thing anymore, now it is whoever reaches the chair first.
So the man said, “I have my pride in my tribe, I cannot go back this way.”
But Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “No, it is finished.”
“Why?” asked the wrestler.
He said, “Before you spat, I was killing you for Allah (swt), but now I would kill you for my ego. I do not kill for my ego, as that is not accepted. I only kill for Allah’s sake.”
So the first person in the above mentioned hadith wanted to become a martyr only to please his ego and to be famous all over the Internet and the world that he died as a martyr, so he got what he wanted. And what happens next is up to Allah’s Judgment. For sure He will send him to Paradise. Sayyidina `Ali (r) refused to kill him for his ego’s sake. The wrestler said, “If this is Islam, then I want to be Muslim.” This the discipline and good manners of Islam that we must show, as Sayyidina `Ali (r) did.
The second person that was judged was an `alim. He memorized and studied the Holy Qur’an and hadith and taught it, but he only did so to please his ego and not Allah (swt). He did that only to gain money, praise, and popularity, only to be called “`Allama” or “Mufti” or “Professor.” You must know that it is not easy to stand in front of Allah (swt) and He tells you that you are a liar! That is why many Sahaabah (r) did not like to stand as the imaam, as you carry the responsibility of those who are praying with you. Imam Malik (r) did not want to make iftah. He only gave three or four fatwas in his entire life, because he was afraid that he will be responsible.
And then the third person to be judged was a rich person. He gave many charities and donations in the way of Allah, but he too only did it to please his ego and not his Lord. He wanted people to say that he is generous and to sit at the highest chair at fundraising events and be called “al-muhsin al-kabeer”, “the Beneficent Donor”, on big banners. If he had done it for Allah (swt), he would hide what he did from people. Sayyidina `Umar (r) used to carry bags of flour or other items in hiding and no one knew who he was.
These three groups will be checked first. But we are not saying that Allah’s Mercy is not Great, that is something else. For sure, Allah (swt) will, inshaa-Allah, forgive everyone from Ummat an-Nabi (s). And it is mentioned in a hadith of Bukhari, where Allah calls the Prophet (s) to make shafa`ah. That shafa`ah will enter the whole ummah into Paradise for the sake of Prophet (s), but we must be careful and try to remain on the right track. We must take a lesson from Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r), who used to say, “O Allah! If only you had created me as grass, then I would have been eaten by Your animals and disappeared! I would not have to stand before You and be judged and not know whether I will go to Hellfire or to Heaven!” (Here “grass” means what grows in streets, not marijuana, as it is said in the English language.)
May Allah (swt) forgive us and bless us. May Allah bless this masjid and everyone who prays here. Give generously without thinking, “I am giving.” Allah will be happy. Do only for Allah (swt) and not for anything else, as what you do is for the love of Prophet (s) and your mashayikh.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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