Jumu`ah Khutbah
As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
O mu’mins! O believers! Mashaa-Allah, everybody has photos on their iPhones. Every now and then you go on a trip down memory lane to see how you looked last year, to see how you looked five years ago, to see how you looked ten years ago, to see how you looked twenty years ago. Others look at celebrities: “How did John Travolta look in the 80’s? How did he look in the 90’s? How does he look now?” Where is that glamor? What happened to that glamor? What happened to that beauty or radiance? What happened to you, O mankind?
Leave the celebrities, let us look at ourselves. What happened to us? Where is that zeenat, decoration, ornaments, beauty that Allah (swt) has bestowed on you, O mankind? Where did you use it? We are mu’mins. A mu’min is somebody who believes that sooner or later you will stand in front of Allah (swt), the Lord of Heavens. He has created you. His Name is Al-Mubdi’, The Starter, The Originator. In the past we had these toys that you wind up and let them go. What happens at the end? They stop. Allah (swt) is Al-Mubdi’. He put you on an orbit and started you. He said, “Run, O My servant. Let me see where you go.” Where do you go? You go in an orbit. You come back.
Year after year, you have to understand that you are coming back to the same point. Yesterday was Laylatu ‘n-Nifsu ‘l-Sha`ban. Some people understood the value of that night and worshipped Allah (swt) with extra voluntary worship. Today they are fasting as extra voluntary worship. Rasoolullah (s) used to fast most days of Sha`ban al-Mu’azzam. They are following the guidance of their beloved.
He is telling you, “O My servant, run. Let Me see where you go.” Where do you go? You get older and older and all that glamor comes off until the end when you have no more plastic surgeons to do anything for you. They say, “We cannot make you beautiful anymore.” You go back to the same spot. Every 365 days the sun goes back to the same sunrise. Do you consider that? It goes back to the same place it came out from. O insaan! You are going to make a full circle. You start and you end. What did you do in the meantime? That is why iman is something so great. You don’t get it anywhere. You think your parents gave it to you, no. Allah (swt) put you in the family of believers so you learned iman by imitating your father and mother and that is also a favor for you. He might have put you with somebody who has another way of thinking or in another family. How would you have found iman unless Allah (swt) guided you? To believe in Allah (swt) is a big favor because it sets you in motion to your goal.
If you know that somebody created you and somebody started you and someone has told you what you need to do in this world, you will do it. Why? Because you will end up seeing Him. That is iman. But if you have no faith, you don’t know how you started, you don’t know what you’re doing on earth and you don’t know how you will end, what’s the point of all that living? That’s the same living of an animal: they come and go. They don’t understand why they have been created. They don’t understand why they are being slaughtered. That is the sheep and cows and all of that, but they have been created. Allah (swt) has given you a mind that elevates you above and beyond that level, so you have to think, “My Lord, my Creator has created me. He put me in motion to follow the one who showed me the way.” Who shows you the way, O mankind, what to do on this earth? They have so many guides. I can show you how to live on this earth.
How many flags are there? Every flag tells you, “I am the flag. Come under me. I’ll take you.” “Where will you take me?” “Follow me. Listen to what I say.”
If you listen to the ones sent by the Lord of Heavens, you will succeed. They will take you to an honorable ending. They will take you to an honorable place. In dunya you will be honored, when you are dying you will be honored, when you are in the grave you will be honored, on the Resurrection Day you will be honored and when you meet Allah (swt), He will honor you. Do you consider that, O man? Very few.
Alhamdulillah, we have a few people here. That is all a favor of Allah (swt). He gathered us to be with Him. We are in His Presence. He doesn’t need you to worship. You will not add anything to Him. You will not take anything from Him. Actually, He will give you. You’re coming to take from Al-Mu`tiyy, The Giver. You are coming to take from An-Nafi`, The Benefiter. His Name is Al-Kareem, The Generous. Why are you outside? Allah (swt) has Hikmah. He created people for dunya and He has created people for Akhirah.
Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) said, everybody is running away from accounting. Nobody wants to be accountable for what they have done. On the Day of Judgement, everybody will be running from that reckoning that will come, from that hisaab that will come, except me. I am waiting for it. I am full heartedly going to my hisaab, accounting to my Lord for what I have done.
When everybody runs away, he is running to the hisaab. He said, if during the hisaab Allah (swt) says, “O My servant,” that is enough for me. If He considers me His servant, if He says “`abdi” during the accounting, laka faani, that is enough for me. Why? How can you be `abd of Allah (swt)? Everybody can say, “We are all servants of Allah (swt). We do our best for our Lord.” Allah (swt) is telling you in the Holy Qur’an and that’s why you need a guide in front of you. You need a guide to tell you. You are in motion. Who do you follow? What did He reveal to Rasoolullah (s), the Seal of Prophets (s)? He came with the same message that Jesus (a) came with, that Moses (a) came with, that Noah (a) came with, that Abraham (a) came with. An la ta’budu ilAllah.
أَن لَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ أَلِيمٍ
"That ye serve none but Allah. Verily I do fear for you the penalty of a grievous day." (Surah Hud, 11:26)
Don’t worship anyone except Allah (swt).and don’t ask from anyone except Allah (swt). He revealed to Rasoolullah (s):
وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱجْتَنَبُوا۟ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتَ أَن يَعْبُدُوهَا وَأَنَابُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ لَهُمُ ٱلْبُشْرَىٰ فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِ
W’alladheena ajtanabu ‘t-taghoota an ya`budooha wa anaaboo ila ’Llah lahumu ‘l-bushra fabashir `ibaad.
Those who shun evil,- and fall not into its worship,- and turn to Allah (in repentance),- for them is Good News: so announce the Good News to My Servants. (Surat az-Zumar, 39:17)
Give glad tidings to My servants. Who are His servants?
Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) and other Awliyaullah and the mu’mins who have followed correctly, will get those glad tidings. Who are they? The Holy verse starts: Those who shun evil,- and fall not into its worship,- and turn to Allah (in repentance.
The ones who have avoided evil powers. Do you follow the evil men and women on earth? Do you follow the evil entities on earth? Do you follow the physical or spiritual evil: jinn, ins, Shaytan, whatever it is? Do you follow evil powers on earth? Do you follow those who are misguiding you on earth? These are taghoot, the ones who have transgressed and went beyond every limit and border set up by Allah (swt) in disobeying Him. They don’t know what other sins to commit as they have done everything, so now they’re inventing sins. The more you look, the weirder they become in their disobedience. It’s not simple stuff anymore, it’s not straight stuff anymore, it’s all deviant stuff, and it’s getting worse because they don’t know what to do anymore. They have transgressed everything in disobedience.
Allah (swt) is saying, those who have avoided the bad ones. The first bad one is your ego. Don’t look at others, thinking, “Mashaa-Allah. I am a good one. Look, all of them are bad.” No, start with yourself. The first one that has come against Allah (swt) within you is your own ego that does not want to worship, that does not want to fast, that does not want to follow any heavenly messenger. What does it want to do? It wants to follow its desires. Isn’t that true?
Allah (swt) is saying, if you avoid the bad ones, those who have disobeyed or transgressed in disobedience and turn back to me, lahumu ‘l-bushra, you will get the glad tidings
Those who shun evil,- and fall not into its worship,- and turn to Allah (in repentance),- for them is Good News: so announce the Good News to My Servants. (Surat az-Zumar, 39:17)
Who is the first one? Your ego that claims to be a big one, the ego that claims to be the one, your ego that claims to be the lord, the god, rabb, like Firaun. Allah (swt) said that Firaun said, ana rabbukum ‘l-`alaa, “I am your highest lord.”
Start with your ego that wants to go up and up and up, until it controls everyone. Start with that. That’s why Awliyaullah have said, khilaafu ‘n-nafsa wa ‘l-hawa, come against the ego and the desires. That’s the way. Who else is taghoot, a bad one? Shaytan. It’s known. Why do you follow Shaytan, O man, and the agents of Shaytan, those who advance Shaytan’s agenda? “Don’t believe. Don’t be good. Hurt, harm, insult, hit,” and whatever they do.
The other ones? The statues, the idols that we all know. Alhamdulillah, we have never, ever gone that way but we have gone the way of the ego. We have gone the way of hawa, desires. That’s the first thing you start with, when you avoid the pitfalls of the ego that commands evil. Your ego is the powerhouse of evil. Avoid the pitfalls of desires that you have in your heart. Avoid the pitfalls of following Shaytan and befriending the other shayateen. It’s not only the jinn Shaytan, no, you have ins Shaytan. You have Shaytan from human beings.
مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ
Min shari ‘l-waswasi ‘l-khanaas alladhee yuwaswisu fee sudoori ‘n-nas mina ‘l-jinnati wa ‘n-naas.
From the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper). (The same) who whispers into the hearts of Mankind. Among Jinns and among men. (Surat an-Nas, 114:4-6)
You have Shaytan that whispers in your ears, from jinn and from human beings. Avoid them. Defriend them. When you defriend all of them and turn to Allah (swt) then you’ll get the glad tiding. What is the glad tiding? You’re going to get it in dunya, lahumu ‘l-bushra fil hayati ‘d-dunya, “so announce the Good News to My Servants in this life.” Allah (swt) has said, My special servants will get the glad tidings in dunya. You will get the glad tidings when you are dying, when mala’ikah are coming to you. You will get the glad tidings in the grave when mala’ikah are coming to you. You will get the glad tidings on Resurrection when you’re coming up and the mala’ikah come to you. And you will get the glad tidings when you’re entering Jannah and the angels will come to you. They will give you glad tidings in all of these places. What is that? You will become from ahlu ‘l-fadl, the people that Allah (swt) has favored. You will be from the people who Allah (swt) has graced, fadl. Allah (swt) says in Surat ad-Dukhan:
فَضْلًا مِّن رَّبِّكَ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Fadlan mi ‘r-Rabbika dhalika huwa ‘l-fawzu ‘l-`azheem.
As a Bounty from thy Lord! that will be the supreme achievement! (Surat ad-Dukhan, 44:57)
The supreme triumph, the supreme achievement, the highest triumph and success is when Allah (swt) touches you with His Grace, Fadl. By His Grant, by His Favor, by His Grace, Allah (swt) will give you that success. You will become from Ahlu ‘l-fadl.
Allah (swt) continues in that ayah and it’s a lesson for all of us: fa bashir `ibaad, give the glad tidings to My servants, alladheena yastami’oona ‘l-qawla fa yatabi’oona ahsana. They listen to the said words and they follow the best.
When you sit with your friends, you hear good stuff and bad stuff. Allah (swt) says, My servants are those who take the best of what is said and leave the bad of what is said. What is the best speech? The best speech is what has come from Allah (swt). Ma kana min indillah wa ma yahdi ilAllah. The best words a human being can utter is what has come from Allah (swt) and guides you to Allah (swt). That is the kalam of Rasoolullah (s), the kalam Anbiya. The best words are what have come from Allah (swt) and guide you to Allah (swt). What did they come with? What did they say? Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. The best thing you can say is, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah.
It is said that Sayyidina Uthman (r) and six of the Ashara ‘l-Mubashara, the ten companions who were given the glad tidings of Jannah, came to Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) and asked, “What does your friend say?” He told them about his iman and they accepted. What did he tell them? Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. That is the best speech. When you say, laa ilaaha, no deity, no bad ones, no ego, no dunya, no desires, no Shaytan, you are cancelling them out. That is taghoot. When you say, laa ilaaha, you are already avoiding every evil power known to you. When you say, illa-Llah, you have turned to Allah (swt).
The secret of being a servant of Allah (swt) is for you to understand what Laa ilaaha illa-Llah means. That is the greatest `ilm. By that you avoid every evil powerhouse and you turn to Allah (swt) completely. That is why in Surah Muhammad, Allah (swt) revealed to Rasoolullah (s), asta`eedhu billah,
فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
fa`lam annahu Laa ilaaha illa-Llah.
So know [O Muhammad] that there is no deity except Allah… (Surah Muhammad, 47:19)
Where are you from Laa ilaaha illa-Llah, O human being, O Muslim, O mu’min? You are following your ego, your desires and what’s good for you in dunya. You are following dunya.
That’s why we go back to the glamor. What is that glamor? It’s the glamor of dunya. How did John Travolta look in the 80’s? He had the glamor. What did he do with that glamor? He became proud. He became a show-off. Not only him, it’s just an example, but all of us. What is that decoration of dunya for? It is for being proud and boasting, “I have a Bentley. You have a Toyota. I am 6 foot. You are 4 feet. I wear this, you wear that. I have this, you have that. I have a $12 million mansion.” It all went up in flames in LA. Where is your mansion? It looks like any garbage dump that we see around. Why the boasting? That is the glamor of dunya.
Where is the Muslim? The Muslim boasts about what he has. Which Muslim in Saudi Arabia, in Syria, in Iraq, in Egypt, in Lebanon or any other Muslim country is not boasting about what he or she has? You are following dunya. You are not in dunya for Allah (swt), you are in dunya for dunya. That is why your heart has to say Laa ilaaha illa-Llah, not only by the tongue. No deity, no dunya, no ego, no hawa, no Shaytan. I am not following any evil powerhouse that takes me away from my Lord. I am turning to my Lord. They will get the bushra, the glad tidings. They will be called `ibaadi. Fabashir `ibaadi. The yaa was taken out. A kasra was put there. Give the glad tidings to My servants, those who have avoided dunya, desires, their egos and its pride and those who have avoided Shaytan and his disobedience. These are the `ibaad.
When Sayyidina Abu Yazid al-Bistami (q) said, "I am not afraid, all I want is to hear my Lord say, “`Abdee, My servant, laka faanee.” It is enough for me. So, try your best to be from the ones who are fit to receive the addressing of Allah (swt). He doesn’t say “`abdee” to everybody on the Day of Judgement. He does not speak to some people. He doesn’t look at others. They are shunned away. Prepare yourself to be from those who get the addressing of Allah (swt). Be from those who have honor in the Divine Presence.
They go and work and say, “I interned at the mayor’s office. I interned at the Supreme Justice office. I interned at the senator’s office. Why? Because when I serve that one, I get respect and honor by serving that one.” Okay, if you serve a king, a prime minister or a president, you get honor and you get respect. Why? Because you have served a great one. How about serving Allah (swt)? If you are not serving Him, how will He say, “Come, O My servant”? How will we get that status on the Day of Judgement, O Muslim? Think. Stop boasting about dunya and running after dunya. Stop doing all of that taghoot. Everything that takes you away from Allah (swt) is taghoot: mini size, medium size, mega size and king size.
Watch out, O Muslim. Watch out, O mu’min. Make Laa ilaaha illa-Llah truly and purely clean in your heart. Laa ilaaha illa-Llah means there is no deity. Nobody orders me around except Allah (swt). Nobody controls me except Allah (swt). I will return to no one except Allah (swt). That Laa ilaaha illa-Llah is not something small. It is the essence of all the messages and of course, the Prophet that has shown it to you is the one you follow when you are set in motion. If you follow him, you go under his flag. Inshaa-Allah, we will all be joined under the flag of Rasoolullah (s) on the Day of Judgement. Inshaa-Allah, all of us can enter Jannah.
One of the first glad tidings you will get when you are given the glad tiding that you are from ahlu ‘l-Jannah. It will be said to you, there are ten things that do not exist in Jannah, so be glad. You ask, “What are they?” There is no aging, so the glamor will never go away. John Travolta, become Muslim. There is no sleepiness, no fatigue. You will enjoy everything with full power. What else? There is no death in Jannah. You will not suffer that pain and agony. There’s no fear in Jannah. There’s no day or night. There’s no darkness, no coldness and no heat. There’s no departure from that beautiful area. You never depart.
Mashaa-Allah, everybody is departing Santorini, the best island in the Greek islands.What happened? I thought you loved to be on that island? “We can’t. It is not safe. We can enjoy it but when it’s not safe, we have to leave.” In Jannah, you will enjoy and never leave. Why don’t you run to the Santorini of Jannah? Their mind is not up there. It is said that from here, up, is malakoot. Your soul is in the heart. From here up is malakoot. From here down is mulk. From here up are spiritual realms, spiritual enjoyment with your qalb, ruh, `aql. From here down is physical enjoyment, with your tummy and under the tummy. Everybody is concerned with the tummy and what is under the tummy. That’s why they go to Santorini. Nobody is concerned with qalb, ruh and `aql which is above. Turn around. Leave the bottom and come to the top. Leave the lower world and turn to the upper worlds. Who listens? Nobody but the mu’min.
الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ
Alladheena yastami’oona ‘l-qawla fa yatabi`oona ahsana.
Those who listen to speech and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding. (Surat az-Zumar, 39:18)
They listen to the said words and they follow the best and the best is what has come from Allah (swt) and what guides you to Allah (swt). Know your priorities, O mu’min.
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