As-Siddiq Institute & Mosque (ASIM)
Jumu'ah Khutbah
A`oodhu billahi ‘s-Sami` al-`Aleem min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
O Muslims, O Mu`mins! Again, `Eid Mubarak to all of us inshaa-Allah and for Ummatu Muhammad (s) at large. This Ummah needs every help it can get. Of course, ours is the door of Rasoolullah (s) and Awliyaullah, the Saints, and of Allah (swt).
If you go to another door, it is just like yours. He is also a human being. What can a human do to another human? What can a disabled one do to another disabled one? What can a weak one do to another weak one? Nothing. Go to the one who has the power, O Muslim, O mu`min. That is our belief.
We believe Allah (swt) is Al-Wali, The Caretaker, The Protector, The Friend, The Support. We believe Rasoolullah (s) and mu’minoon are also our supporters, our help.
إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُمْ رَٰكِعُونَ
Your (real) friends are (no less than) Allah, His Messenger, and the (fellowship of) believers,- those who establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they bow down humbly (in worship). (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:55)
Innama waliyukumullahu. Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur’an, “Your Wali, your Protector, your Support is Allah (swt) and Rasoolullah (s), and Believers.” It is our belief that mu’mins should support each other and inshaa-Allah, Allah (swt) will help the Ummah come out of its problems. But you have to keep in mind that the Ummah and Muslims have become heedless and ignorant. They’re asleep at the wheel, but from what? The biggest ghaflah, heedlessness for all human beings, mu`mins and Muslims, is that Akhirah is coming.
The biggest test and affliction for humnity is heedlessness, ghaflah, especially for Muslims, who know the beginning and the end. Allah (swt) and Rasoolullah (s) have told us, “You have a beginning and you have an end.” O Muslim, O mu`min. You believe that everything has a beginning and an end, but we have become unaware.
Those who don’t believe (in Allah) also don’t believe in the beginning and the end, so it doesn’t matter for them. But the mu’mins have become heedless of Allah’s (swt) Promise and of what Rasoolullah (s) told us. They say, “We are busy in dunya.” You are busy in dunya, but that should not take you away from your work for Akhirah.
Unfortunately, many have become entangled in the business, politics, vacations and pleasures of this world, and have forgotten Akhirah: that one day, one hour, one moment will come and they will be shipped on the shoulders of others.
One Waliyullah said, when you carry a deceased one to the cemetery, know that you will be next. Who thinks about that? Nobody. How many coffins have you carried, O human being? Countless. Did you ever think, “Next time it will be me.” No, because we have forgotten Allah (swt)’s Promise.
You have no excuse when Allah (swt) tells you, “O My servant, what did I send you to dunya for?”
Why did Muslims come to dunya? What do they believe, to amass the wealth of this world? To have the highest positions in corporations, to start their career? Did Allah (swt) send you to dunya to get dollars and euros? Why did He send you? To know Him. He allowed you to know Him by sending His prophets, messengers and books to you. He sent you here to gain knowledge about Him. When you come back to Him, what are you going to say?
He said, “I have given you your body, your mind, your heart, your soul, your eyes, your ears to collect knowledge about Me, to gain stations in the highest levels of Paradise.”
What are you coming here with? Your checkbook, credit cards, gold and silver? That’s what they are doing now, running after gold and silver all their lives.
On the Day of Judgement, will Allah (swt) ask, “How much gold did you collect in dunya, O My servant?. How much was the balance in your bank account?”
All their lives are devoted to collect more of the wealth of this dunya. Allah (swt) will not ask you about that, He will ask you what you good deeds you brought, `amalu ‘s-saliha and iman, “What did you know? How did you know? When did you know?”
Muslims have also become heedless. They are in the rip current, trying to swim against it. You can’t swim against a rip current, you can only swim sideways to get out of it. That means in this dunya you go along but don’t swim in that current as it will take you in. You will not survive that ocean of dunya. You have to go sideways to get out and Allah (swt) has sent you the books and the messengers to tell you how to get out. But human beings are careless.
Subhaan-Allah. Awliyaullah have narrated that Allah (swt) is going to ask on the Day of Judgment, “O My servant, didn’t anyone come to remind you that you’re going to meet Me?”
No. They don’t read the Qur'an, they don’t follow Rasoolullah (s), they don’t do any of that. How would they know?
What did Sayyidina `Umar (r) say? Once Sayyidina `Umar (r) caught a thief. Of course in our Shari`ah if you catch a thief, you cut his hand: you cut one hand and all the other hands are spared. One capital punishment will deter all others from doing the same. You will have no thieves anymore if they see one cut hand.
They ask, “Why do you cut the hand?” It is so the others don’t do it, stealing will end.
The thief asked, “Why are you cutting my hand?”
Sayyidina `Umar (r) said, “That’s what Allah (swt) ordered.”
He asked, “Where? I didn’t read it.”
Sayyidina `Umar ® said, Asta`eedu billah.
وَٱلسَّارِقُ وَٱلسَّارِقَةُ فَٱقْطَعُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَـٰلًا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hand: a punishment by way of example from Allah for their crime, and Allah is Exalted in power.
Surat al-Ma’idah
(
“Cut their hands.”
The thief said, “I didn’t know it.”
Sayyidina `Umar ® replied, “That’s not an excuse.”
Awliyaullah have said that’s when Sayyidina `Umar's heart was inspired that in Taraweeh khatmu ‘l-Qur’an should be done.
No more excuses for you. You have heard it and you have taken your precautions. You cannot say, “I did not know.” Why do all of you come to khatmu ‘l-Qur’an? To get the thawaab of Jannah. Okay, you can get it, but there’s more than just that. There’s understanding of what Allah (swt) is saying. That is why khatmu ‘l-Qur’an is a Sunnah, so people don’t have any more excuses.
On the Day of Judgement, Allah (swt) is going to ask you, “O My servant! Didn’t anyone come to remind you of your Day with Me? Didn’t you get a Message from Me? Didn’t anything come to you saying that you’re going to meet Me?” What do you say?
The mu`min is going to be ashamed, of course, even for the non-Muslims, death is enough of a reminder for all humanity that in the end the Truth will be revealed, justice will be served. Allah (swt) knows best what happened. He will judge.
Death is a reminder for everybody of their ending. That is why Sayyidina `Umar (r) had a ring inscribed, “Death is reminder enough for me and an advisor and consultor.” He was a ruler, so why was he taking lessons from death? Because he knew on that Day he will meet Allah (swt).
There is something after death. They think death is the end of Creation, existence, of being here. No, it’s not the end. It’s a gate, a door. Yunqallu min daarin ila daar as Awliyaullah have said, you will be transferred from one area to another area.
In one area you move with your body and in the other area, you move with someone else. It is a transition. He knows that after death there is something going on. Death is the iman of Sayyidina `Umar (r). He is saying, “Death is my reminder that I will answer for everything I did.”
Which Muslim leader has that nowadays? Which Muslim leader is thinking of Akhirah? Look around. Pick anybody you want. Pick from the sultan to the prince to the king to the president to the prime minister. Pick from the rulers of Muslims. Which ones are thinking, “Wa kafaa bi’l-mawti wa`izhan, death is enough for me as a reminder”? Nobody. They think that this world will never end. There is no tomorrow. “Nothing will happen to me.” That is what the Muslim rulers are doing. That is the biggest ghalfah, heedlessness.
Muslims should be ashamed. Muslims should be attentive, alert, awake, knowing that Allah (swt) is going to call them any moment, at any time. Mashaa-Allah, if you know everything, if you have knowledge of everything, as Awliyaullah have said, tell me when you’re going to die. You don’t know, which means you don’t know everything. You are naaqis, deficient, incomplete. You are not kaamil, complete. There is something you don’t know. How many more things do you not know? Many.
Wa kafaa bi’l-mawti wa`izhan, as Sayyidina `Umar (r) has said. I just read about O.J. Simpson yesterday. How many died before him too? Why don’t you take a lesson, O insan, that Allah (swt) is taking us one by one. He started you, He takes you back. But Muslims don’t think about the start and they don’t think about the end. They just think about now, “What can I gain today? What can I do today? How can I get up higher today? What should I do today to gain more of this world?”
Allah (swt) is not going to ask you about your gold, your silver, your position or post on the Day of Judgement. He is not going to ask you about any of that, even if you go to the cemetery in a motorcade and the whole world is clapping for you, as we have seen.
Even if the whole world is celebrating or mourning or whatever it is, it doesn't matter anymore. When you are down there, it doesn’t matter if you’re Bey or a Pasha, a big one or a small one. The poor one is in the same hole as the king underground. It doesn’t matter for you. What matters is how you end up there.
Imam al-Ghazali (q) said when the dead person is in a hearse (transport for the deceased one in a coffin), Allah (swt) will ask them a question directly with no angels there; they will appear later in the grave, after the burial. On the way there, He will ask that dead person, “O My servant! You focused so much on your appearance.”
Are you into your looks? Of course. Every day shampoo, conditioner, some mascara, some perfume, thinking, “These shoes don’t go with the outfit. This tie doesn’t go with the shirt.” Why do you do all of that? “So I can look presentable, nice, good for the people looking at me. I should look perfect. beautiful, handsome.”
Men and women do this. Men spend one hour in the bathroom, women spend two hours or more, presenting themselves the best way they can. Why? “Because somebody is going to look at me.”
Our teacher has narrated from Sayyidina Imam al-Ghazali’s (q) book that Allah (swt) is going to ask him that question. “You took care of your appearance too much. Why? Because the created ones were looking at you. You know that I don’t look at your body or your image. I look at your heart. This one was going to the cemetery. O My servant, did you ever think, ‘One day my Lord will be looking at me, maybe today, maybe tomorrow. He is looking at me at any moment.’ But you are heedless and not saying, ‘My Lord will be looking at me. What lurks in the depth of my heart?’”
What lurks in the depths of your heart, O human being? The attributes of savagery, all the disgusting, ugly manners. They say, “Our hearts are clean.” How is your heart clean? You don’t follow the heavenly messages, the heavenly prophets or the saints.
If a sick person says, “I am healthy. I have no problem,” the doctor brings an X-ray and says, “Look, this is your disease.”
How can you say you’re healthy when he is showing you your disease? You cannot say, “My heart is clean,” until Allah (swt) puts you through an X-ray machine. What is that machine? Al-Meezan, that Divine Scale, then your reality will appear. Are you sick or are you healthy?
Fee quloobihim marad, as Allah (swt) says in Surah al-Baqarah, “In their hearts is marad, disease.”
فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْذِبُونَ
In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: And grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves). (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:10)
Or you have come with qalbin saleem. You have sickness in your heart. You are a sick one, wicked one, evil one, savage or you have come to Him with a purified heart. Which one? You don’t know unless you stand in front of the Meezan. Therefore, Allah (swt) says, fa laa tuzaqoo anfusakum.
Don’t say, “I am a good one. I am a pure one and all the rest are bad ones. I am the good one.” Don’t say that. That is an indication of your diseased heart. That is kibr, pride. Be careful, O human being. You’re going to stand in front of Allah (swt) one day.
ٱقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ
Closer and closer to Mankind comes their Reckoning, yet they heed not and they turn away. (Surat al-Anbiya, 10:1)
Allah (swt) confirms this ghaflah, heedlessness in the Holy Qur’an in Surah al-Anbiya in the first verse. We have read the verse multiple times during Taraweeh. Do you ever think of it? Hour by hour your reckoning is approaching. This hour is closer to our hisaab than the morning. The Fajr prayer in the morning is closer to our accounting than last night. Every hour you pass, you are getting closer to your hisab, to your judgment, O insaan. Wa hum fee ghaflah. But they are heedless, they are careless, they are asleep at the helm, they are asleep at the wheel. Wa hum fee ghaflatin mu`ridoon. May Allah (swt) make us wake up from this heedlessness.
I also heard from our teacher that when they bury the deceased, there are two shrouds. Not one shroud, two sets of shrouds. We put one set and a second set that Allah (swt) sends with His angels for the dead one to be wrapped with. He will send the shroud of Mercy, Rahmah with Mala’ikatu ‘r-Rahmah. He will send the shroud of Mercy with the angels of Mercy, telling them, “Wrap My servants with the wrap of Mercy and put him down in the House of Mercy.” That is not a hole. That is Baytu ‘r-Rahmah, the House of Mercy. That deceased one will be shrouded with the wraps of Mercy by angels of Mercy when Allah (swt) is happy with His servant.
There is another shroud called kafanu ‘l-la`na, the shroud of curses. Allah (swt) will send that to you, O one who has died, the one everyone clapped for when he passed away. It doesn’t matter if the whole universe claps for you if you are going to get that wrap of curses. These ones will get it. Don’t think Allah (swt) will leave the martyrs. They go with Rahmah and Allah (swt) knows best about the murders. What we know is that Mala’ikatu ‘r-Rahmah, Mercy are coming down and Mala’ikatu ‘l-`Adhaab, punishment and cursing are coming down. One will be wrapped with the shroud of Mercy, put by the Angels of Mercy, put down in the House of Mercy and one will be wrapped by the shroud of cursing, by the mala’ikah of `Adhaab and put down into the hole of punishment.
May Allah (swt) allow us to be with the good ones, allow us to be wrapped with the Rahmah that Allah (swt) has sent. Don’t be heedless. Others are heedless but you, O mu`min, O Muslim, don’t be heedless. Know that you will meet Allah (swt) very soon. Inshaa-Allah (swt), Allah (swt) will allow us to leave this world with iman, with Islam, with Shahadah, with declaring the Oneness of our Lord and declaring the messengerhood of Rasoolullah (s). Leave the others for Allah (swt). Allah (swt) knows best what to do with His servants.
https://sufilive.com/The-Ummah-Is-Asleep-at-the-Wheel--8243.html
© Copyright 2024 Sufilive. All rights reserved. This transcript is protected. by international copyright law. Please attribute Sufilive when sharing it. JazakAllahu khayr.