Khutbah delivered in Orange County, USA,

27th January 2011

http://vimeo.com/19291892

Many Muslims today have a misconception of fasting and the activities of a fasting person. They go into a state of semi-hibernation spending the whole of daylight hours in bed at home. If they fear Allah, they wake up for Salah but then return to sleep immediately. Others spend some of their hours awake, but become lazy, dull witted and often cranky. Ramadan is actually a time of increased activity wherein the believers, lightened of the burden of constant eating and drinking, become more willing to strive and struggle for Allah. The Prophet (pbuh) passed through approximately nine Ramadans after the Hijrah. They were filled with decisive events and left us a shining example of sacrifice and submission to Allah.

In the first year after the Hijra the Prophet (pbuh) sent Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib with thirty Muslim riders to Saif Al Bahr to investigate three hundred riders from Quraish who had camped suspiciously in that area. The Muslims were about to engage the disbelievers but they were separated by Majdy ibn Umar Al Juhany. The Hypocrites of Madina hoping to oppose the unity of the Muslims, built their own Masjid (called Masjid Ad-Dirar). The Prophet (pbuh) had the Masjid destroyed in Ramadhan. In the third year A.H., on the seventeenth of Ramadan, Allah Almighty separated truth from falsehood at the Great Battle of Badr. The Prophet (pbuh) and 313 of his companions set out to intercept a caravan of their own goods that had been left in Mecca, led by Abu Sufiyan and estimated at 50,000 dinars. They were met, instead, by a well-equipped army led by the nobility of Quraish and intent on putting out the light of Islam. Despite being outnumbered three to one and appearing weak and unseasoned, they were strengthened by the burning desire to protect the Prophet and meet their Lord. Allah gave them a decisive victory on this never to be forgotten day of Ramadan.

In the 6th year A.H., Zaid ibn Haritha was sent to Wadi Al Qura at the head of a detachment to confront Fatimah bint Rabiah, the queen of this area. Fatimah had previously attacked a caravan led by Zaid and had succeeded in plundering its wealth. She was known to be the most protected woman in Arabia, as she hung 50 swords of her close relatives in her home. She showed open hostility to Islam, and was killed in a battle against the Muslims in the month of Ramadan.

By Ramadan of the 8th year A.H., the treaty of Hudaibiya had been broken, the Muslim armies had engaged the Byzantines in the North. Muhammad (pbuh) felt the need to strike a fatal blow to disbelief in the Arabian Peninsula and conquer the city of Makkah. Allah had declared his Sanctuary a place of peace and security and religious sanctity. Now the time had come to purify the Kaabah of nakedness and abomination. The Prophet set out with an army having more men than Madinah had ever seen before. People were swelling its ranks as it moved toward Mecca, and the determination of the believers guided by the Will of Allah became so awesome that the city of Mecca a was conquered without a battle, on the 20th of Ramadan! This was one of the most important dates in Islamic History. Islam was firmly entrenched in the Arabian Peninsula. During the same month, in the same year after smashing the idols of Mecca, detachments were sent to the other major centers of polytheism and Al-Lat, Manat and Suwa, some of the greatest idols of Arabia were destroyed.

Such was the month of Ramadan in the time of the Prophet (pbuh), a time of purification, enjoining good, forbidding evil, and striving hard with their life and wealth. After the death of the Prophet (pbuh), Muslims carried on this tradition and Allah used the true believers to affect the course of history. Ramadan continued to be a time of great trials and crucial events.

Ninety-two years after the Hijrah, Islam had spread across North Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey. Spain was under tyrannical rule of the King Roderic of the Visigoths who forced his six million serfs and persecuted Jews to seek the aid of Muslims of North Africa in order to be delivered. Musa ibn Nusair, the governor of North Africa responded sending his courageous general Tariq ibn Ziyad at the head of 12,000 Berber and Arab troops. In Ramadan of that year, they were confronted with a combined Visigoth army of 90,000 Christians led by Roderic himself, seated on a throne of ivory, silver and precious gems and drawn by white mules. After burning his boats, Tariq preached to the Muslims warning them that victory and Paradise lay ahead of them but defeat and the sea lay to the rear. They burst forth with great enthusiasm and Allah manifested a clear victory over the forces of disbelief. Not only was Roderic killed and his forces completely annihilated, but Tariq and Musa liberated the whole of Spain, Sicily and parts of France. This was the beginning of the Golden Age of Al Andalus where Muslims ruled for over 700 years.

In the year 582 A.H., Salahuddin Al Ayyubi after battling with the Crusaders for years, finally drove them out of Syria and the whole of their occupied lands in the month of Ramadan. But the Muslim world was still to meet another great challenge. In the 7th Century A.H., the Mongols were sweeping across Asia destroying everything that lay in their path. Genghis Khan called himself “the Scourge of God, sent to punish humanity for their sins.” In 617 A.H. Samarkand, Ray and Hamdan were put tot he sword causing more than 700,000 people to be killed or made captive. In 656 A.H. Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, continued the destruction until even Baghdad, the leading city in the Muslim world, was sacked. Some estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 Muslims were killed in this awesome carnage. The Christians were asked to eat pork and drink wine openly, and the surviving Muslims were forced to participate in drinking bouts. Wine was sprinkled in the Masjids and no Athan (call to prayer) was allowed. In the wake of such a horrible disaster, and the threat of the whole Muslim world and Europe being subjected to the same fate, Allah raised up from the Mamluks of Egypt Saifuuddin Qutuz who with the combined Muslim army met the Mongols at Ain Jalut on the 25th of Ramadan 658 A.H. Under great pressure, the Muslims with the help of Allah, cunning strategy and unflinching bravery crushed the Mongol army and reversed this tidal wave of horror. The whole of the civilized world sighed in relief and stood in awe at the remarkable achievement of these noble sons of Islam. This was the spirit of Ramadan that enabled our righteous forefathers to face seemingly impossible challenges. It was a time of intense activity, spending the day in the saddle, and the night in prayer, calling upon Allah and seeking His mercy and forgiveness.

Today, the Muslim world is faced with genocide in Chechnya, Kosova, and Kashmir; torture and humiliation in Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia; hunger and starvation in Africa and Asia; and a “Dajjal-like” new world culture that is trying to unite the planet in materialism and corruption at the turn of the century. The new millennium will find us in the last ten days of Ramadan! Where will we be on New Year’s Eve? Will we be mesmerized by the light show at the Table Mountain, the Great Pyramid of Giza or Times Square, New York? Or will we be worshipping our Lord in the stillness of these blessed nights?

May Almighty Allah raise up a new generation of Muslims who are balanced enough to submit to His Will yet respond to the challenges of today’s world. May Allah give us the courage to stand up for Islam wherever we are and unite the Muslims in these times of confusion and temptation. May Allah make us of those who do what they say and fast in the way of our illustrious predecessors.

* This khutbah was delivered at Ottery Islamic Center, Cape Town, South Africa on Friday, December 10, 1999

Muslims are finding themselves under great pressure today. From all sides, and in various forms, subtle and blatant, attacks are being launched against Muslim individuals, families and communities. Pressure is being applied to our eyes with the scanty summer fashions and rash of indecency on the television and in the movies. In Canada, women have been given the legal right to walk around topless in public places. Already, women can be seen mowing their lawns, sunbathing, or strolling down the street without any blouse, bra or shirt. Pressure is being applied to our ears by the constant swearing, backbiting, and scandal that we are confronted with daily. Pressure is being applied to our hands by the unavailability of jobs or loans and the growing availability of interest, mortgages, and gambling. Attacks in the media against Islam are on the increase. Muslims are blamed for slavery, wife assault, terrorism, female circumcision, ignorance and animosity to civilization. Recently, the Yahud in Israel have drawn pictures of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a pig and posted them on Muslim homes and businesses.

Many Believers feel that their back is against the wall and the whole earth is closing in on them. They do not see any escape or relief in the next dew decades. A1lah tells us in the Blessed Qur’an: “And whoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he knows not. And whoever depends on Allah, Allah is sufficient for him. Surely Allah will achieve His purpose. He has made a limit for all things. ” (65:3)

Even the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself, who was the best of humanity, and his Companions, who were the best generation, were severely tested. For thirteen long years, the Muslims were tortured in Makkah, driven out of their homes and even killed. They were afflicted with diseases and malnutrition. One day, the Prophet (pbuh) was passing the family of Yassir (ra) who were known for their piety and their submission to the will of Allah. They were being savagely beaten and tortured. Allah had not given the Muslims the right to fight back, so the Prophet could only ease their burden by revealing to them a special part of His mercy. The Prophet said: “Patience, family of Yassir, your promised abode is Paradise.”

The pain and suffering of the Makkan period forged a tight relationship between the Muslims and purified their relationship with Allah. If a person had accepted Islam for fame, glory, wealth or position, he would soon turn back on his heels. Arrogance, pride, envy and racism were eliminated and the Muslims came to see each other as being closer and more important than their own families. We should remember their struggle as we endure today’s trails and tribulations.

Muslims throughout the planet are in a state of siege. Some find themselves in a hot war where the fire of the military is all around them. Others find themselves in a war of ideas where the bullets are propaganda and insults. Sometimes the effects of psychological warfare are more devastating than military warfare for they can last for more than a generation.

In the wake of this crisis, people are making critical choices about Islam. Many are choosing to accept Islam, for despite the negative attacks, they realize that Islam is the only way out of the present corruption and tyranny. Islam is the only organized way of life that can categorically oppose homosexuality, racism and secularism. Only the Qur’an and Sunnah have cohesive arguments and a moral system that can be applied in conjunction with science, politics, business and every day life. Other people are asking themselves, “Should I practice Islam completely or should I continue being Muslim in name or by culture?” They see Islamic practice in today’s society as swimming against a tidal wave. So they justify selling pork, liquor, gambling tickets or committing adultery as part of modern life. They fail to recognize that “Harám” is for everybody and for all times.

How do we bring about change in our conditions and enable those who are undecided about practicing Islam to see the light of Allah’s guidance? The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was reported to have said, “Islam began as a stranger and will return to being a stranger so glad tidings (or a certain huge tree in Paradise) is for those who are strange. They asked, “O Messenger of Allah” Who are the strangers?” He replied, “Those who rectify (themselves and others) when the people are corrupt.” (Al-Tabarani: Sahih)

Muslims who have been blessed to revert to Islam or to practice Islam in the full sense have a great responsibility. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was “Uswatun Hasanah” (a fine example) of the practical application of Islam. He not only talked about Islam but he lived it in all spheres of his life. In order for us to make this critical change, we need to re-analyze our Islamic theory and practice. Great emphasis has been placed upon “ibadat” or the ritual aspects of Islam. Now we need to focus on Muamalat or inter-personal relationships. How many times do we hear about a Muslim who prays and fasts but he is untrustworthy, or a Muslim who wears Islamic clothing yet cheats in business! We need to look at the “Inner Muslim” and bring this personality to the surface.

In Islamic history there were many illustrious scholars who searched for the inner aspects of Islam yet were also versed in Shari’ah. With so much falsehood being presented today as scholarship, it is important for us to find those scholars who were balanced and respected by all. Imam Yahya ibn Sharaf ibn Murri ibn Hasan an-Nawawi was in this category. He was born in the village of Nawa in 1233 CE and in his early years rose to be a recognized scholar for his knowledge of Hadith and his piety. He recognized that the Prophet (pbuh) was visited by the Angel Jibril and asked about Islam and Iman. He was also questioned about Ihsan (righteousness). The Prophet’s response was that “Ihsan is to worship Allah as though you see Him and if you cannot do this, then worship Him as though He sees you.” So Jibril asked about the inner Muslim, the conscience or the essence of the person. Muslims today need to look into themselves and find that inner person. We need to ask ourselves, “Why do we pray, fast, give Zakat or go to Hajj? Are they done for Allah or for the people’s attention and pleasure?”

Imam An-Nawawi laid down five principles for Ihsan which we need to study and implement into our lives. He also gave us an action plan as to how to attain them.

1. Fearing Allah in the secret and the open. This is attained through scrupulousness and being upright. The Prophet (pbuh) once said to one of his companions, “Say, I believe in Allah, and then be upright.” We need to constantly look at ourselves and examine our intentions for doing what we do.
2. Living according to the Sunnah in word and deed. This state can be attained through caution and good character. Remember that the Prophet has informed us, “Haste is from the Shaitan.” Putting Islam into our character will force us to implement the guidance instead of just spouting it from our mouths.
3. Indifference to whether others accept or reject us. This state can be attained through patience and entrusting our affairs with Allah. We need to stop looking around us and being afraid of whether society accepts us or whether people will be angry at our Islam. If we are right with Allah, then there is nothing to fear!
4. Satisfaction with Allah, the Most High, in scarcity and plenty. This state can be attained through contentment with what one has and submission to the Will of Allah.
5. Turning to Allah in happiness and affliction. This state can be attained through having gratitude to Allah in happiness and taking refuge in Him in affection.

May Allah give us the benefit of the scholarship and striving of this humble yet profound thinker and may Allah help us to embody the words and warnings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who left us in an authentic hadith reported in Al-Tirmidhi: “Two characteristics are not found together in a hypocrite: good manners and understanding of religion (fiqh fi-Din).”

May Allah protect the weak and oppressed of the Ummah of Muhammad (pbuh) and give us the strength to be shining examples of this clear way of life. Surely Allah is the Off-forgiving and He has power over all affairs.