The TEXT of the khutbah follows:

“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem

Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”¬

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh,  is truly guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”

O You who believe, – be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, and die not except as Muslims.

Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.

In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa’, Allah says:

O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;? Be conscious of Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Last Friday our khutbah dealt with Prophet Muhammad’s encounter with some remarkable Christians in the early days of his mission. We reminded ourselves that, despite many centuries of rivalry and conflict, there’s always been a deep spiritual connection Christians and Muslims,

The trouble is that most people don’t handle complexity so easily. We like to keep things simple, sometimes too simple. We like to put things in neat little boxes, good and bad, right and wrong. We like to categorise other people as friends or enemies, good people or bad people. It’s much harder to appreciate the subtle and many faceted aspects of human nature.

Today’s khutbah is about how we can try to deal with complexity.

A person may have one or two bad habits, but that doesn’t necessarily make for a completely bad person. It’s so easy to oversimplify things and to end up with a completely wrong and distorted conclusion. Someone may have been rude or angry with us for a few moments, and we might judge that person by just that one brief encounter. We may forget the 99% of good things that person does at other times.

Let’s consider our own behaviour. We may think of ourselves good Muslims, public spirited, ever willing to help others with a smile. But on some rare occasions we might behave completely out of character. In some exceptional moments of anger, fear, frustration or temptation, we might do things that we later regret. We might slip from our normal high standards and fall into behaviour that, afterwards, we might feel deeply ashamed of. Would it be right for people to judge us on the basis of those momentary lapses? Wouldn’t we all expect some fairness, some balance and perspective? Wouldn’t we want our judges to overlook our brief lapses and to consider the many, many good deeds we do for most of the time?

The truth is that every human being has at least the potential to be extremely good, and extremely bad. It’s the repetition of good or bad deeds that grows into habits, and those habits shape our character. Our character ultimately decides our destiny. Whether we arrive at a high place in Allah’s Garden, or whether we suffer the endless pain in that hotter place down below, that is for Allah alone to decide. Allah is the best of judges.

Sura Al-Teen reminds us in these eloquent words:

“By the Fig and the Olive, (1) And the Mount of Sinai, (2) And this City of security? (3) We have indeed created man in the best of moulds, (4) Then do We abase him (to be) the lowest of the low? (5) Except those who believe and do righteous deeds: for they shall have a reward unfailing. (6) Then what can, after this, contradict you; as to the Judgment (to come)? (7) Is Allah not the wisest of Judges? (8)”

Brothers and sisters, Sura Al-Teen reminds us that Allah created us in the very best of forms, the most excellent of all His creation. Then it warns us that unless we have faith in Him, and do good deeds, we risk falling to the lowest of the low. Only Iman and ‘amilus saalihaat, only faith and good actions can save us from a very bad ending. That’s the key. The reward from Allah never fails, and never ends. Only Allah has the complete picture. Only Allah can judge with absolute fairness and justice.

We should all humbly admit our human limitations. When in doubt about someone’s behaviour, always give it the best interpretation. Surely, you would like others to give you the benefit of any doubt. So, why not do the same to them? Treat people as if you expect good from them. It’s human nature to try to live up to someone’s high expectations, when they think highly of us. Allah thinks highly of us. He expects us to be good to others. So let’s try to live up to Allah’s expectations. Let’s not disappoint Him.

“Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim.Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”

Allah and His angels send greetings on Prophet Muhammad, O you who believe, send greetings on him, and salute him with a worthy salutation! O Allah, send peace on Muhammad and his family, just as you sent peace on Abraham and his family. O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and his family, just as you sent blessings on Abraham and his family. In both worlds, You are Praiseworthy and Exalted.

Second Khutbah:

“Soob’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem”

Glory to Allah!  Praise to Allah! There is no power and no strength except from Allah!

My dear sisters and brothers,

A well-known Scholar tells this story. Once on a journey, his caravan was attacked by some robbers. The robbers quickly seized all their possessions then started eating their food. But he noticed that their leader wasn’t eating. The gang leader just stood by, watching his men. So, the scholar walked up to him and asked why he wasn’t eating with his men. “Because I’m fasting,” said the leader. “You’re fasting, and you rob people? What a contradiction!” “Yes,” came the reply. “I may be a robber and I may be full of sins, but I still want to keep a door open to Allah.”

Just think about that, brothers and sisters, in the midst of his sinful behaviour, this leader of a gang of thieves still fasts while he robs people. He keeps a door open to Allah!

Years later, the Sheikh tells us that he was making tawaaf around the Kaaba, when he recognised the same man again, this time gang leader is also making tawaaf. As he moved closer, he heard the man making the most passionate and heartfelt duah for mercy and forgiveness… such a beautiful duah that he had never heard before!

What do we learn from this, my dear sisters and brothers? We learn that no matter how low we may have fallen in our behaviour, we must always keep open a door to Allah. Continue to pray and continue to fast, even when you’ve done something wrong. Pray and fast especially when you’ve done something wrong. Shaytaan will tell you that it’s hypocrisy, that only good people pray and fast. Shaytaan will tell you that it’s too late, you’re too bad, you’ve had too many chances, you’ve done too many sins and there’s no hope for you. But ignore him. Allah is ready to forgive a mountain of sins with an even bigger mountain of forgiveness. We must never despair of Allah’s capacity to forgive.

Never despair of Allah’s mercy. He forgives anything except that we should associate partners with him.

Those who’ve read the seerah literature will remember the story of the Abyssinian slave, Wahshy ibn Harb who was responsible for killing the Prophet’s uncle, Hamza, in the battle of Uhud. This caused Prophet Muhammad indescribable pain and grief. Yet such was our noble Prophet’s character, that he later sent several messages to Wahshy ibn Harb inviting him to Islam. Each time the man refused, knowing what pain and suffering he must have caused the Prophet. Wahshi feared that his sins were unforgivable. Finally, rasool-Allah-sws sent him this verse from the Sura Al Zumar v 53:

“O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Quran 39:53)

Remember, dear sisters and brothers, Islam offers a message of hope, not despair. Prophet Muhammad loved optimism, not pessimism. In the midst of all the darkness, fear and danger, there is Allah’s guiding light. Find it, grasp it and be guided by it.

My dear sisters and brothers,

What can we take away from our khutbah today? Don’t judge people by one or two faults. Think good of others, think good of yourself and constantly keep a door open to Allah. Keep up your prayers and fasting. And do good deeds, often, even if only small ones.

Let’s do something easy, simple and practical. I have a suggestion that almost anyone can do on a regular basis, where the results can be huge in relation to the effort.

Next time you go to the supermarket to buy your groceries, buy some extra bread, cheese and butter or margarine. Take these extra items to your local charity that feeds homeless people. There are charities for the hungry and homeless in every city. Make sure you are wearing a Hijab or a kufiyya/prayer cap, anything that distinguishes you as a Muslim. This is important. You’re doing this charity not to show off for yourself. You’re doing it for Allah and His Prophet sws. You want people to see that Muslims care about the poor and hungry. You don’t have to identify yourself personally. Don’t give anyone your name. It’s enough that people can see you as a Muslim feeding the poor.

Try doing this regularly: once a week, if you can afford it, or even just once a month.

You are following Prophet Muhammad’s advice to “feed the hungry” and you want people to see that this is a Muslim who is feeding the hungry, not just anybody. It’s important that people out there associate Muslims with something good. Allah knows, the media are doing a pretty good job of constantly associating us with bad news! This I believe is a very easy, simple and effective way of bringing immediate benefit to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people around us. That’s the main priority. As a by-product, it helps us to promote a better image of the Muslim community. Always remember why you are doing this. You’re doing this out of love and gratitude to Allah and His Prophet, not for yourself. You’re not doing it to massage your own ego.

Sadaqa (voluntary charity) is such an important principle. Prophet Muhammad advised us to give generously in charity. Everyone can give something, even the poor can give, even if it is just a date or half a date. It’s the principle of giving that matters most. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that giving is only for the rich, and that we don’t have enough to give. If you think this way, then you really are poor! Poverty of the heart is the worst kind of poverty…. it suggests that you don’t trust Allah to provide for you. Give, and don’t fear that you won’t have enough for yourself. Allah will provide. When you give generously, even though your resources are modest, you’re showing Allah that you trust Him. Read Sura Talaq verses 2-3:

“Wamay-yattaqil laaha yaj’al-lahu makhraja. Wayar-zuqu min haythu la yahtasibu, wamay yatawakkal ‘alal-Laahi fahuwa hasbuhu, innal-Laaha baalighu amrihee qad’ja’alal-Laahu likulli shay-in qadaraa.”

“And for those who fear Allah, He always prepares a way out (2) And He provides for them from (sources) they never could imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose: truly, Allah has appointed a due proportion for all things.”

If you like, you can make a niyyah (intention) that this is for the benefit of some relative or friend who is sick, or it’s for your forthcoming exams, or for any other good reason. Allah will put barakah, blessings into your life and He will make easy and bearable whatever seems too difficult.

Brothers and sisters, to conclude our khutbah:

InnaAllaha, Yamuru bil adel, wal ihsaan, wa eetaa-i zil qurba; wa yanha anil fuhshaa-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-karoon. (Sura 16:90),

“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.”

Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon [2:152].

“and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.”

wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu ya’lamu maa tasna’oon.” [29:45].

“and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”

Ameen.                   Aqeemus salaah

Christians and Muslims: the other story

Arshad Gamiet/Royal Holloway University of London/16^th March 2012

(to listen to this khutbah, or to download the audio version, please click here)  

“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem

Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh,  is truly guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”

O You who believe, – be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, and die not except as Muslims.

Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.

In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa’, Allah says:

O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;― Be conscious of Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

In the verse I just quoted, the Holy Quran reminds us that we are all descended from common ancestors, we are all children of Adam and Eve, peace be on them. Yet there are still people who forget this, and who treat others with unbelievable hatred and contempt. In recent days, some Christians have been burning Qurans and some Muslims have been bombing churches and committing acts of mindless terror. They claim they are defending their religion and serving God. But each group is equally misguided. They’re just massaging their own bruised egos. Senseless violence between followers of one great religion and another has nothing to do with real faith.

Wars between Crusaders and Caliphates tell us more about the political rivalry for wealth and power between two civilizations. It tells us nothing about the spiritual connection that has always existed, very strongly, between believing Christians and believing Muslims.

In today’s khutbah I want to focus on this topic. Let’s look at three remarkable Christians to illustrate the intimate connection between the followers of Jesus and Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be on both of them. We can learn some important lessons from their stories.

They are Bahira, Waraqa and Najashi, the king, the Negus of Abyssinia.

Let’s begin with Bahira the Monk. As we know, Prophet Muhammad was an orphan. His father died before he was born, and his mother died just a few years later. So he was left in the care of his uncle Abu Talib. One day Abu Talib decided to take him along with a caravan to Syria. Along this route was a monastery. Bahira, a Christian monk lived there.

As the caravan approached, Bahira noticed a small cloud was shading it from the sun, in an otherwise cloudless sky. When the caravan stopped by a tree, the cloud also stopped. This tree, by the way, is still alive, subhanallah! It’s still there. It’s the only tree, in fact the only vegetation of any kind, for more than 100 miles in any direction, between Jordan and Syria. This tree stands all alone in the empty desert, the last living sahaba, the last living entity still connected with our beloved Prophet, sws

Bahira invited the travellers to a meal, and after examining the boy Muhammad closely he recognised the mark of prophet-hood on his back. He advised Abu Talib to take good care of him, because his own people would seek to harm him.

Our story goes fast-forward to a mountain cave near Makka and Muhammad is now a man of 40. He often comes here to meditate, but tonight, one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, a strange thing happens. Suddenly, the Angel Gabriel appears, and hugs Muhammad in a tight embrace, almost squeezing the life out of him, commanding him to read. He protests: I cannot read! I’m illiterate! But again and again he is commanded: Read! Until the first verses of the Holy Quran come forth from his lips:

“Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem! Iqra! Bismi Rabbikal lathee khalaq! Khalaqal insaana min ‘alaq. Iqra wa rabbukal akram; Al-lathee ‘al lama bil qalam, ‘alamal insaana ma lam ya’alam”

In the name of Allah, the All- Merciful, the All-Compassionate.
READ! In the name of thy Lord Who created, (1) Created man from a clot of blood. (2) Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, (3) Who teaches by the pen, (4) Teaches man that which he knew not

This was the beginning of Muhammad’s assignment as God’s last Prophet. Gripped by fear and dread, he rushed home to his wife, Khadija, pleading, “Cover me, cover me!” He feared that he was losing his mind. But Khadija reassured him, saying “You always maintain family ties, always feed the poor and you stand by the downtrodden. Allah would never humiliate you or forsake you.” And where do you think she took him to find advice and consolation? To the rich and powerful, the grandees of Makka? No! She was rich and powerful herself. But she took him to her cousin, Waraqa,  a poor man in failing health who was a Christian. He was old and losing his sight, but he reassured Muhammad that this event was foretold in earlier scripture. “If I lived long enough I would stand by you, even when your people turn against you,” said Waraqa. “Will my people turn against me?” asked Prophet Muhammad. Waraqa replied: “Never has a prophet brought what your will bring without his people turning against him.”

We are reminded here, that Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus all met with ingratitude and violent rebellion from their own people, the very people who needed to be saved from themselves. Doesn’t that sound familiar? People of faith are always resisted by their own people who prefer to worship the false idols of power, greed and vanity.

Here’s another example of a great Christian of the time,The king, the Negus of Abyssinia, who protected a small group of Muslims from persecution from their own tribe, the Qureish of Makka.

As soon as Prophet Muhammad started preaching his message, he made enemies, lethal enemies. He called on people to worship the One God of Abraham and Moses and Jesus, not the many idols, 360 idols of wood and stone adorning the kaaba. This was bad for business. Imagine someone preaching against capitalism and consumerism in Trafalgar Square! Not quite the same earth-shaking message, but imagine! Prophet Muhammad urged people to stop burying alive their baby daughters, for the strong to stop oppressing the weak, for the tribes to stop genocidal warfare. He was calling for change, radical change, and his enemies, sensing a threat to their power and authority, started torturing and killing his followers.

Islam was now in mortal danger.

So as a precaution, Prophet Muhammad sent a small group to Abyssinia/ Ethiopia. “There you will find a just and tolerant Christian ruler who will protect you,” he assured them.  These were the world’s first Muslim Asylum seekers, given protection by a Christian king in Africa, 1,400 years ago! Today, Good Christians in Britain and Europe are still following this noble tradition, taking care of asylum seekers who fear persecution in their own countries!

What about Muslim hospitality towards Christians?

While he was the Governor of Madinah, Prophet Muhammad received a delegation of Christians from Najran in Southern Arabia. When it was time to pray, they had no place to pray, so he invited them into his mosque and allowed them to pray in there.

My dear brothers and sisters! How many of us Muslims will do that today? How many mosques anywhere in the Muslim world, will offer their Christian neighbours that courtesy exemplified by our own Prophet?

Here at Royal Holloway University, in a few weeks time when students write their exams, we’ll have to do our Friday prayers in another hall. For years, we’ve used the Jurgens Centre at exam time. The Jurgens Centre belongs to the local Catholic Church. Remember that. We Muslims do our Friday prayers in a hall owned by the Catholic Church. 1400 years after the Najran Christians prayed in Prophet Muhammad’s mosque, Christians in Englefield Green are returning the favour!

When believers of any faith treat believers of another faith with kindness and respect, they are also showing a courtesy to God, to Allah.

My dear sisters and brothers, let’s remember the Golden Rule, the Ethic of Reciprocity: Nabi Isa, Jesus saidl “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 600 years later, Prophet Muhammad expressed the same message in different words. He said that we are not believers until we desire for others what we desire for ourselves.

“Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim.Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”

Allah and His angels send greetings on Prophet Muhammad, O you who believe, send greetings on him, and salute him with a worthy salutation! O Allah, send peace on Muhammad and his family, just as you sent peace on Abraham and his family. O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and his family, just as you sent blessings on Abraham and his family. In both worlds, You are Praiseworthy and Exalted.

Second Khutbah:

“Soob’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem”

Glory to Allah!  Praise to Allah! There is no power and no strength except from Allah!

My dear sisters and brothers,

The Islamic Calendar, the Hegira, began when Prophet Muhammad evaded assassination in Makka and migrated to Madinah. Jews, Christians and Muslims welcomed him as their new leader. They eagerly awaited his first speech, his first sermon, khutbah. It was short, eloquent, and powerful.

He summed up the entire teaching of Islam in one short sentence:

“Spread salaam (peace), feed the hungry; pray for a part of the night and you will enter paradise.” (Hadith)

That’s all…   That’s what Islam is all about: Spreading peace between people, feeding the poor, thanking our generous Provider every night, and hoping for his good pleasure.

A few years ago my wife and I visited the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. In the middle of the Sinai desert we found Mount Sinai, where Moses received the 10 Commandments. At the foot of the mountain is the ancient St Catherine’s Monastery. We were amazed to find a mosque inside this monastery. We were also amazed to find that local Muslim Arabs have been coming to the monastery every day, for over 1,400 years, to knead the dough and bake the bread there, side by side, with Coptic Christian monks.

But the monks showed us something even more amazing. High up on a wall is a gold-framed Charter of Privileges to the Christians. It is written in Arabic, and it is signed by Prophet Muhammad, with the seal of his ring imprinted in red wax. The one we read was a copy, as the original Charter is in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. It reads:

This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them.
Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.
No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.
The Muslims are to fight for them.
If a female Christian is married to a Muslim it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.
Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).

This charter of privileges has been honoured and faithfully applied by many Muslim regimes throughout the centuries. Imagine that! Despite wars between Crusaders and Caliphates, Christians were safe here, making bread and breaking bread with local Muslims. There’s a powerful message for our troubled world today.

Those who ‘spoil God’s Covenant’ and disobey clear instructions from Prophet Muhammad will have to answer to Almighty Allah. Let us therefore show respect and love for fellow believers among the ‘People of the earlier Scriptures.’ This is what Allah commands us to do, and for more than 14 centuries, Prophet Muhammad’s letter has reminded us of this Covenant.

Brothers and sisters, to conclude our khutbah:

InnaAllaha, Yamuru bil adel, wal ihsaan, wa eetaa-i zil qurba; wa yanha anil fuhshaa-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-karoon. (Sura 16:90),

“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.”

Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon [2:152].

“and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.”

wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu ya’lamu maa tasna’oon.” [29:45].

“and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”

Ameen.                   Aqeemus salaah

Watch the Youtube video of this khutbah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QNd9kL4pGk

courtesy of www.islamicity.com

The Prophet Muhammad taught love, kindness and compassion to his people, and was seen to be the most loving, kind, and compassionate of all of them. The Quran mentions his kind and gentle behavior in these words: “O Messenger of Allah! It is a great Mercy of God that you are gentle and kind towards them; for, had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would all have broken away from you” (Quran 3:159).

There are many instances that show his kindness and gentleness, especially to the weak and the poor. Anas, who was his helper, said: “I served Allah’s Messenger for ten years and he never said to me, ‘Shame’ or ‘Why did you do such-and-such a thing?’ or ‘Why did you not do such-and-such a thing?’” (Bukhari, 2038).

Once he said to his wife: “0 ‘A’ishah! Never turn away any needy man from your door empty-handed. 0 ‘A’ishah! Love the poor; bring them near to you and God will bring you near to Him on the Day of Resurrection”. He also went much further on to say: “Seek me among your weak ones, for you are given provision, or you are given help only by reason of the presence of your weak ones”. (Rahman, Encyclopedia of Seerah, VOL. VIII, p. 151) God Almighty is Kind, and the Prophet imitated Allah’s example in its perfection by showing kindness to his servants and all creatures without any regard for their beliefs, color or nationality. The Prophet said: “God is kind and likes kindness in all things” (Bukhari, 6601).

His heart ached within him at the corrupt state of his fellow-Meccans and their rejection of One God. The Holy Quran testifies to it in these words: “0 Muhammad, you will, perhaps, consume yourself with grief because the people do not believe” (Quran 26:3). In Surah Kahf, we read: “Well, 0 Muhammad, it may be that you will kill yourself for their sake out of sorrow if they do not believe in this Message.” (Quran 18:6). And Surah Fatir says: “So let not your life be consumed in grief for their sake.” (Quran 35:8).

He took a great interest in the welfare of all people and had great compassion for people in trouble. The Prophet Muhammad imitated the attributes of God par excellence and translated them into practice in the highest form possible for man. Kindness is an attribute of Allah, which has no limits. It is extensive and encompasses all things and all beings without discrimination. Likewise was the kindness of the Prophet. He extended it to all beings, both animate and inanimate and benefited all without measure. The Quranic words for the Prophet’s kindness, ra’ufun rahirn (Quran 9:128) are very intensive and comprehensive in meaning and convey the true nature and extent of the Prophet’s kindness to people. The Prophet said: “One of the finest acts of kindness is for a man to treat his fathers’ friends in a kindly way after he has departed” (Abu dawud, 5123)

The issue of treating friends well was also extended to include relations: “He who wishes to have his provision enlarged and his term of life prolonged should treat his relatives well” (Bukhari, 5985). He emphasized on this matter because he deeply held the view that “Only kindness prolongs life, and a person is deprived of provisions for the faults he commits” (Ibn Majah). Bahz b. Hakim, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather told him that he had asked Allah’s Messenger to whom he should show kindness and that the Prophet had replied: “Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied: “Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied for the third time: “Your mother.” He again asked who came next and he replied: “Your father, then your relatives in order of relationship” (Abu dawud, 5120). He dwelled on the issue of treating orphans humanely as he stated that “The best house among the Muslims is one which contains an orphan who is well treated, and the worst house among the Muslims is one which contains an orphan who is badly treated” (Ibn Majah, 3679). This means that the Prophet cautioned his followers against general maltreatment of anyone regardless of his status. By extending good treatment from friends to relatives and now to neighbors, Prophet Muhammad was intent in making all humans interdependent as he emphasized in the following words: “All creatures are Allah’s dependants, and those dearest to God are the ones who treat His dependants kindly” (Rahman, VOL VIII, p. 154). He emphasized the kind treatment of women again and again in his speeches:

Treat women kindly, since they are your helpers; . . . you have your rights upon your wives and they have their rights upon you. Your right is that they shall not allow anyone you dislike to enter your bed or your home, and their right is that you should treat them well. (from the Farewell Sermon of the Prophet)

Once a number of women complained to the Prophet’s wives about their ill-treatment by their husbands. On hearing of this, the Prophet said: “Such persons among you are not good persons.” (Abu Dawud, 1834). This condemnation by the Prophet himself was an indication that no one will be accepted before God who, while on earth, decided to be unkind to women. Another person said to the Prophet: “0 Messenger of Allah! My relatives are such that although I cooperate with them, they cut me off; I am kind to them but they ill treat me.” The Prophet said this in reply: “So long as you continue as you are, God will always help you and He will protect you against their mischief” (Muslim, 4640). This was not only a way of bringing comfort to the mind of the worried person but one of the communicative techniques of the Prophet to assure who ever found himself in that situation to look up to God to be consoled and protected. So it was pointless to preach vengeance to this kind of people suffering from this similar fate. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad was nothing short of a competent counselor.

He was always counseling people to be goodhearted regardless of their sex, age or gender. Once Asma bint Abu Bakr’s mother, who was still an unbeliever, came to see her in Madinah. She told this to the Prophet and said: “My mother has come to see me and she is expecting something from me. May I oblige her?” The Prophet said: “Yes, be kind to your mother” (Muslim, 2195). This attitude of the Prophet was equally extended to Zainab as-Saqafia, the wife of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud and an Ansari woman. She went to see the Prophet and to inquire whether it would be a charity if they spent something on their husbands and on the orphans under their care. The Prophet said: “They will get a two-fold reward, one for kindness towards their relatives and the other for charity” (Bukhari, 1466).

There are many Ahadith concerning his kindness to animals, birds and insects: “God prescribed kindness towards everything; so when you slaughter any animal, slaughter it well; when you sacrifice, make your sacrifice good. And let everyone sharpen his weapon and make it easy for his sacrificed animal” (Muslim, 5055). He made this kind of statement to demonstrate his love for both humans and animals. In essence, Prophet Muhammad was equally showing his followers that he too is feels pain.

Courtesy of Adamslist

“There is none amongst the believers who plants a tree, or sows a seed, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats thereof, but it is regarded as having given a charitable gift [for which there is great recompense].” [Al-Bukhari, III:513].

The idea of the Prophet Mohammed as a pioneer of environmentalism will initially strike many as strange: indeed, the term “environment” and related concepts like “ecology”, “environmental awareness” and “sustainability”, are modern-day inventions, terms that were formulated in the face of the growing concerns about the contemporary state of the natural world around us.

And yet a closer reading of the hadith, the body of work that recounts significant events in the Prophet’s life, reveals that he was a staunch advocate of environmental protection. One could say he was an “environmentalist avant la lettre”, a pioneer in the domain of conservation, sustainable development and resource management, and one who constantly sought to maintain a harmonious balance between man and nature. From all accounts of his life and deeds, we read that the Prophet had a profound respect for fauna and flora, as well as an almost visceral connection to the four elements, earth, water, fire and air.

He was a strong proponent of the sustainable use and cultivation of land and water, proper treatment of animals, plants and birds, and the equal rights of users. In this context the modernity of the Prophet’s view of the environment and the concepts he introduced to his followers is particularly striking; certain passages of the hadith could easily be mistaken for discussions about contemporary environmental issues.

Three Principles

The Prophet’s environmental philosophy is first of all holistic: it assumes a fundamental link and interdependency between all natural elements and bases its teachings on the premise that if man abuses or exhausts one element, the natural world as a whole will suffer direct consequences. This belief is nowhere formulated in one concise phrase; it is rather an underlying principle that forms the foundation of all the Prophet’s actions and words, a life philosophy that defined him as a person.

The three most important principles of the Prophet’s philosophy of nature are based on the Qur’anic teachings and the concepts of tawhid (unity), khalifa(stewardship) and amana (trust).

Tawhid, the oneness of God, is a cornerstone of the Islamic faith. It recognizes the fact that there is one absolute Creator and that man is responsible to Him for all his actions: “To God belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, for God encompasses everything [4:126].”  The Prophet acknowledges that God’s knowledge and power covers everything. Therefore abusing one of his creations, whether it is a living being or a natural resource, is a sin. The Prophet considered all of God’s creations to be equal before God and he believed animals, but also land, forests and watercourses should have rights.

The concepts of khalifa, stewardship, and amana, trust, emerge from the principle of tawhid. The Qur’an explains that mankind holds a privileged position among God’s creations on earth: he is chosen as khalifa, “vice-regent” and carries the responsibility of caring for God’s earthly creations. Each individual is given this task and privilege in the form of God’s trust. But the Qur’an repeatedly warns believers against arrogance: they are no better than other creatures.  “No creature is there on earth nor a bird flying with its wings but they are nations like you [6:38]”; “Surely the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of man; but most people know not [40:57]”.

The Prophet believed that the universe and the creations in it – animals, plants, water, land – were not created for mankind. Man is allowed to use the resources but he can never own them. Thus while Islam allows land ownership, it has limitations: an owner can, for example, only own land if he uses it; once he ceases to use it, he has to part with his possession.

The Prophet recognized man’s responsibility to God but always maintained humility. Thus he said: “When doomsday comes, if someone has a palm shoot in his hand, he should plant it,” suggesting that even when all hope is lost for mankind, one should sustain nature’s growth. He believed that nature remains a good in itself, even if man does not benefit from it.

Similarly, the Prophet incited believers to share the earth’s resources. He said: “Muslims share alike in three things – water, herbage and fire,” and he considered it a sin to withhold water from the thirsty. “No one can refuse surplus water without sinning against Allah and against man” [Mishkat al Masabih].

The Prophet’s attitude towards sustainable use of land, conservation of water and the treatment of animals is a further illustration of the humility of his environmental philosophy.

Sustainable Use of Land

“The earth has been created for me as a mosque and as a means of purification.” [Al-Bukhari I:331] With these words the Prophet emphasizes the sacred nature of earth or soil, not only as a pure entity but also as a purifying agent. This reverence towards soil is also demonstrated in the ritual of tayammum, or “dry wudu” which permits the use of dust in the performance of ritual purification before prayer when water is not available.

The Prophet saw earth as subservient to man, but recognised that it should not be overexploited or abused, and that it had rights, like the trees and wildlife living on it. In order to protect land, forests and wildlife, the Prophet created inviolable zones known as hima and haram, in which resources were to be left untouched. Both are still in use today: haram areas are often drawn up around wells and water sources to protect the groundwater table from over-pumping. Hima applies particularly to wildlife and forestry and usually designates an area of land where grazing and woodcutting are restricted, or where certain animal species are protected.

The Prophet not only encouraged the sustainable use of fertile lands, he also told his followers of the benefits of making unused land productive: planting a tree, sowing a seed and irrigating dry land were all regarded as charitable deeds.“Whoever brings dead land to life, that is, cultivates wasteland, for him is a reward therein.” Thus any person who irrigates a plot of “dead”, or desert land becomes its rightful owner.

Conservation of Water

In the harsh desert environment where the Prophet lived, water was synonymous to life. Water was a gift from God, the source of all life on earth as is testified in the Qur’an:  “We made from water every living thing” [21:30].  The Qur’an constantly reminds believers that they are but the guardians of God’s creation on earth and that they should never take this creation for granted: “Consider the water which you drink. Was it you that brought it down from the rain cloud or We? If We had pleased, We could make it bitter” [56:68-70].

Saving water and safeguarding its purity were two important issues for the Prophet: we have seen that his concern about the sustainable use of water led to the creation of haram zones in the vicinity of water sources. But even when water was abundant, he advocated thriftiness: thus he recommended that believers perform wudu no more than three times, even if they were near to a flowing spring or river. The theologian El-Bukhari added: “ The men of science disapprove of exaggeration and also of exceeding the number of ablutions of the Prophet.” The Prophet also warned against water pollution by forbidding urination in stagnant water.

The Treatment of Animals:

“If anyone wrongfully kills even a sparrow, let alone anything greater, he will face God’s interrogation” [Mishkat al Masabih]. These words reflect the great reverence, respect and love that the Prophet always showed towards animals. He believed that as part of God’s creation, animals should be treated with dignity, and the hadith contains a large collection of traditions, admonitions and stories about his relationship to animals. It shows that he had particular consideration for horses and camels: to him they were valiant companions during journey and battle, and he found great solace and wisdom in their presence as the following tradition reveals: “In the forehead of horses are tied up welfare and bliss until the Day of Resurrection.”

Even in the slaughter of animals, the Prophet showed great gentleness and sensitivity. While he did not practice vegetarianism, the hadiths clearly show that the Prophet was extremely sensitive to the suffering of animals, almost as though he shared their pain viscerally. Thus he recommends using sharp knives and a good method so that the animal can die a quick death with as little pain as possible. He also warned against slaughtering an animal in the presence of other animals, or letting the animal witness the sharpening of blades: to him that was equal to “slaughtering the animal twice” and he emphatically condemned such practices as “abominable”.

Conclusion

It is impossible to do justice to the full scope and significance of Prophet Mohammed’s environmental philosophy in this short article. His holistic view of nature and his understanding of man’s place within the natural world pioneered environmental awareness within the Muslim community.

Sadly, the harmony that the Prophet advocated between man and his environment has today all too often been lost. As we face the effects of pollution and overexploitation, desertification and water scarcity in some parts of the world and floods and violent storms elsewhere, it is perhaps time for the world community as a whole, Muslims, Christians and Jews, Hindus and Buddhists, atheists and agnostics, to take a leaf out of the Prophet’s book and address the current environmental crisis seriously and wisely.

http://kalkhausar.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/prophet-muhammed-a-pioneer-of-the-environment/

Khutbah delivered in Orange County, USA,

27th January 2011

http://vimeo.com/19291892

By Ihsaan Bassier, a high-school student

(This khutbah is reproduced with the kind permission of the Main Road Mosque, Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa) 13th January 2012.

One of the most important distinctions between humans and animals is the human ability to reason and the human capacity for innovation. Therefore, as the New Year begins – some of us grudgingly into yet another year of school, some for the umpteenth time into a job, and others at a loss as to the future – I’d like to reflect on the importance of that human ability and capacity: which we call knowledge, from a contemporary Islamic perspective.
Before I deal with my topic directly, I would like to provide a context for my reflections.

Knowledge over the past decade has been revolutionised, in primarily three ways. Firstly, with practically omnipotent internet, constant media coverage and vibrant social networks, access to information is simply a button away. Secondly, there is immense emphasis on the value of knowledge, through patronage by governments, markets and every imaginable institution. And then, thirdly, NGOs, technology and globalisation have created abundant opportunities to spread this knowledge.

When considering the enormity of these three changes, we realize that we are in arguably the most capable and adept position historically.

With this context in mind, I suggest two duties that we should be mindful of as Muslims.  One is from a personal perspective and the other from a social one.

On a personal level, there is absolutely no excuse for ignorance and bigotry.

With such widespread access to information, we are easily exposed to a spectrum of opinions and viewpoints. Yet, whenever something that we perceive to be cardinal to our beliefs is challenged, we throw up retaliatory mental fortresses.

We need to each ask ourselves what our responses are when we are challenged with alternative arguments, perhaps regarding the validity of  one or other hadith, or our religious justification of women’s status, or our eating habits and the concept of halal or permissible food. Too often, we tend to dismiss the contrary views and interpretations of others without stepping back for a serious moment’s introspection.

Denying the possibility that something may contain truth, however absurd, is arrogance or kibr and is regarded by Islam as one of the worst sins.

However, the duty to engage extends beyond having a passive open mind-set. We should use our knowledge to actively challenge and engage others in constructive debate and discussion. This is especially important in circumstances where we may be witness to the perpetration of an injustice.

Justice, for me, is the most important principle of Islam: it is the ultimate goal of everything we do. This is affirmed by the weekly Qur’anic benediction from Surah al-Nahl, chapter 16, verse 90, we conclude with at the end of every jum`uah wherein we are commanded to enact justice and to stop oppression.

“Allah commands justice, the doing of good,

and giving generously towards one’s family.

He forbids indecency, manifest evil, and oppression.

He exhorts you so that you may be mindful.”

---

Often, though, I find that when I witness an injustice I hesitate to step in, questioning the appropriateness of the timing or fearing a negative response.

We need to remember that upholding justice is difficult, but it is a duty incumbent on the conscientious Muslim. It takes courage and great wisdom.

An inspiring example of the use of knowledge to stand up for justice is recorded in the following story from the khilaphate of Sayyidina `Umar.

It is reported that `Umar, the second Rightly- Guided Caliph, was once standing on the pulpit delivering a khutbah, severely reprimanding the people and ordering them not to set excessive amounts of dower (mahr) at the time of marriage. A woman who was attending the jumuàh service on hearing `Umar’s sermon got up and objected by saying, “O `Umar, you have no right to intervene in a matter on which Allah the All-Mighty has already decreed in Quran.` Then she proceeded to quote verse 20 of Surah-al-Nisa, chapter of 4 of the Glorious Qur’an:

وَإِنْ أَرَدْتُمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ مَكَانَ زَوْجٍ وَآَتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ قِنْطَارًا فَلَا تَأْخُذُوا مِنْهُ شَيْئًا أَتَأْخُذُونَهُ بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا

“If you intend to replace one wife by another and you have given one of them a Qintar (of gold, i.e., a great amount as Mahr bridal money), take not the least bit of it back; would you take it wrongfully without a right and (with) a manifest sin?” (V.4:20)

After being reminded of this Quranic verse, `Umar withdrew his order, saying,

“I am in the wrong and a woman is correct.”

In the most public of forums (the masjid), under the judgemental gaze of a patriarchal community and against the most revered of sources, a woman cast aside her fears and stood up for justice. That is something we should all strive towards.

The second duty that we should be mindful of as conscientious Muslims is that it is incumbent on those who have knowledge, to share and spread this knowledge.

The information society of today makes the spreading of knowledge so much easier than before. The Prophet Muhummad (pbuh) is reported to have said :

“The best charity is that of one who learns knowledge and later teaches it to another.”

Giving someone knowledge empowers them in every facet of their lives.

Let us all make a habit of regularly sharing our skills, insha-Allah

I began this Khutbah by quoting a verse from the Qur’an:
هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ

“Say: ‘Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know?

It is those who are endowed with understanding that receive admonition.’”
May we all realise the importance of knowledge and make the decision to spread it.

May we take full advantage of our opportunities and circumstance, so that we may ultimately use it to benefit our community.

Second Khutbah

Apparently I am at a stage in which I can offer advice, what with having experienced a whole 11 years of school.  I’m a bit nerdish, so can’t speak for most. But, for those at school, here are a few suggestions:

Firstly, this period is the easiest in which to create your future.

While most follow the mundane setwork, those who pursue a passion or grab at opportunities stand out. There are so many companies and competitions that throw thousands of rands at every glimmer of promise in the most obscure of fields.

Your talent doesn’t need to be conventional at all – explore the so called weird, interesting ideas and hobbies. So pick a speciality. Get really good at it. Own it. And be curious about it.

Secondly, get your timing right. Come exam-time, study like it’s an obsession.

But otherwise, focus on that speciality area or your personal hobbies. Take up a sport or instrument, join a society.

We have so many opportunities – to learn, to influence and to create change.

We can walk right into the headmaster’s office at any moment, if only we had the guts to do so.

We all want to leave an impression beyond our scuffed textbooks: Even our most creative visions just need a bit of time. Take that time to develop yourself and your school into what you want.

Lastly, from what I’ve heard, this is the best period of our lives.

University allows zero respite, and work is hell. So enjoy these years. There’s plenty of time for enough crazy teenage fun, as well as productive hobbies and schoolwork.

Please join in me in a supplication to our All-Knowing God:

May this year, for those at school and otherwise, be productive and full of success.

May we always be cognizant of our duties as Muslims while pursuing our endeavours.

And may we be gifted with a thirst for some of those endeavours to be Spiritually aimed.

(Rabbana zidna ilma)
O God, increase us in knowledge.

رَبَّنَا آَتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآَخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

“Our Lord, grant us goodness in this life,

as well as goodness in the hereafter,

and protect us from the torment of fire

http://www.cmrm.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=629:khutbah-january-13-2012-ihsaan-bassier&catid=46:khutab&Itemid=778

Reflections on the Hajj

Arshad Gamiet/Royal Holloway University of London/Date 4 Nov 2011

“As-salámu ‘alaikum wa rahmatul láhi wa barakátuh!”

“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem

Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”

“O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, and die not except as Muslims.”

“Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”

“O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.”

In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa’, Allah says:

“O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;― Be conscious of Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.”`

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At this very moment, millions of our brothers and sisters are about to complete the rituals of the Hajj, the most important journey in their lives. In this short khutbah I want to sum up a few key lessons for us all to remember about this momentous event. Hajj, the Pilgrimage to Makka, is an epic journey, a journey of a lifetime: It is also the summation of the dramatic story of our Faith, Islam.

It’s a journey that reminds us about our primordial human nature: Fitra. Fitra is our natural state, the way Allah made us. We were born innocent and pure, but we are infinitely distractible. It’s our human forgetfulness that leads us to sinful and shameful deeds.

But Hajj is also about Redemption, divine Mercy and Forgiveness. Hajj teaches us about sacrifice, about loving Allah more than anyone on anything else, just like Nabi Ibrahim, alayhis salaam, did. Prophet Abraham peace and blessings on him, was ready to sacrifice his own beloved son, Ismail alayhis salaam, and earned himself the honourable title of khaleel-Allah, the Friend of Allah.

Hajj takes us on a journey back through time, retelling the moral and spiritual history of humanity. We visit the Kaaba, the first place of worship, built before the first church, or temple, or synagogue. Here we find ourselves at the Baytul-Laah, the House of Allah. It is the home of Monotheism, the cradle of Tawheed,of Divine Unity. Here we walk around the geographical centre of Islam, the Kaaba, centre of our Islamic universe.

Our tawaaf symbolises effort, action, in a constant, circular motion, centred round a fixed and immovable idea of Unity: Tawheed. Unity of belief, Unity of purpose, amidst a diversity of opinions and different starting points. The great plain of Arafat becomes the stage for a dramatic role-play of the very beginning and the very end: Long before time and space existed, long before the ‘big bang’ 14 billion years ago, Allah created your soul and my soul and the souls of every human being that ever was and ever will be. Then He asked them to testify according to themselves, by declaring the First Shahaadah, the First Covenant. This was in the state of metaphysical or pre-Eternal Time. When Allah addressed the assembled gathering of human Souls, he asked them:

“Alasta bi Rabbikum?” “Am I not Your Lord?”

and they all answered together in one thunderous voice,

“Balaa shahidna”

“Yes, indeed, You are! we testify to this, so that we have no excuse on the Day of Judgement to say that we were not aware of this covenant.” [Sura Ar’af 7:172]

The great gathering on Arafat is also a dress rehearsal for the Day of Judgement, Yawmul qiy-yaamah. This is how the entire human race will one day stand before Allah, awaiting the Final Judgement. In our simple ihram clothes, we cannot distinguish anyone’s wealth and social status. No one can see who’s rich and who’s poor; the president, the billionaire, the taxi driver and the farmer all look exactly alike, just like Allah sees us. Allah is only concerned with who is best in their deeds. Who is best in their moral and ethical behaviour… this is what hayaat-ad-dunya, this earthly life, should really be all about: Preparing ourselves for the eternal life after death.

We come to Jabal Rahma: the Mount of Mercy, a low hill rising above the plain of ‘Arafat. Jabal Rahma signifies the central theme of atonement, forgiveness after we’ve acknowledged our sins and pleaded for Allah’s mercy. Here we follow the Adamic role model. Here we stand not simply as Muslims or Believers. Here we stand as Bani Adam, descendants of Adam and Eve. Here is where the first human beings sought forgiveness and this is where Allah forgave them:

“Rabbana zhalamna an fusina wa il-lam tagh-fir lana wa tar hamna lana koona minal khaasireen!” [7:23]

This is the same prayer of Nabi Adam, alayhis salaam, Adam and Eve, Allah’s peace and blessings on them both:

“Our Lord! We have truly wronged our own souls, and if You do not forgive us, we will truly be among the losers!”

Nabi Adam’s epic spiritual journey began from a state of fitra, primordial innocence, purity, and went through human forgetfulness and distraction to commit Sin. But Allah also gave him the ability to recognise his mistake, to regret, to be filled with remorse and to plead for forgiveness, and finally to earn redemption. All this is graphically, vividly recalled on the Hajj. Brothers and sisters, if you have not yet undertaken this blessed journey, make your intention, your niyyat, to do so, inshAllah, ASAP, as soon as possible.

Hajj is truly a journey of a lifetime. Hajj takes us not only on a journey tracing the spiritual history of Islam, it also symbolises the inward journey each and every one of us must undertake, to find our own centre, in the Kaaba of our heart. What desires, what emotions and passions are still circling, making tawaaf around our spiritual heart? The qalb is the locus of our personality. This is our real driving force. Let’s make sure that it is surrounded by loving thoughts of Remembrance of our most Beloved, Allah. It is only when we Remember Allah with love and gratitude that our hearts will ever find lasting peace and contentment.

“Al-latheena ‘aamanu, watat-ma-innul quloobuhum, bi dhikril-Laah. Alaa bi dhikril-Laahi tat-ma-innul quloob” [Sura al-Ra’d, 28]

“Those who Believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the Remembrance of Allah; for truly, in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.”

Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.

Second Khutbah:

Sub’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem

Glory to Allah!  Praise to Allah! There is no power and no strength except from Allah!

Respected  brothers and sisters,

We say we love Allah more than we love anyone or anything else. Do we really mean it? Do we really love Allah more than we love our families, more than our parents and children, more than our selfish egos? Really? Where’s the evidence? If we really love someone, there’s evidence. There’s phone calls, love poems, text messages and emails. Where’s the evidence of our love for Allah?  Where’s the evidence that we’re constantly seeking His smiling Face, in our prayers, in our Dhikr, and in our lifelong good works?

Prophet Abraham, Nabi Ebrahim, alayhis salaam, had a dream in which he was offering his son Ismail as a sacrifice to Allah. He told his son about the dream, and both father and son, being so devoted to Allah, they both agreed and prepared to follow Allah’s will. But just as the sharpened knife was about to pierce the jugular vein, Allah put a sheep in Ismail’s place. Both father and son proved their love and obedience to Allah. They passed the acid test of sincerity, ikhlaas.

Let us not forget the powerful message here. It’s easy to say, I love Islam, I love Allah and Prophet Muhammad sws. Talk is cheap, but where’s the evidence?. Let us show that we truly love Allah, by coming forward to help with our money, our time and our talent to serve others, to make our neighbourhood, our city and our country a better place, a safer place for everyone. This is the real proof of love for Allah. Serve His creation. Be an agent of His mercy. Do good, as Prophet Muhammad (sws) advised.

“Spread Peace, feed the poor, pray a small part of the night and you will enter Paradise.” [Hadith]

Brothers and sisters, to conclude our khutbah:

InnaAllaha, Yamuru bil adel, wal ihsaan, wa eetaa-i zil qurba; wa yanha anil fuhshaa-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-karoon. (Sura 16:90),

“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.”

Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon [2:152].

“and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.”

wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu ya’lamu maa tasna’oon.” [29:45].

“and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”

Ameen.                   Aqeemus salaah!

It also calls for a submission that is spontaneous, without any hesitation or resistance against the will and guidance of Allah. “But no, by your Rabb, they can have no (real) faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.” [4/an-Nisa'a/65]

There is great – truly great – news from Allah. “Those who have faith and do righteous deeds, they are the best of creatures, their reward is with Allah: Gardens of Eternity, beneath which rivers flow; they will dwell therein forever; Allah is well pleased with them, and they with Him: All this for such as fear their Rabb (the cherisher and sustainer).” [98/al-Bayyinah/7-8]

Today we have gathered here on a great occasion of joy and celebration. Ironically, this joy and celebration revolves around sacrifice. It would probably make sense to only those who understand that the joy of giving – that touches others’ lives – is far greater and deeper than the joy of receiving.

Today is the Eid al-Ad’ha. This great occasion is tied to an unique event, the Hajj; a unique city, Makkah; and a unique family, the family of Ibrahim (a). Indeed, what Qur’an refers to the Millat of Ibrahim is essentially rooted in the legacy of a model family. Say: “God speaks the Truth: follow the Millat of Ibrahim, the True in Faith; he was not of the Pagans.” [3/ale Imran/95]

We cannot discuss Eid al-Ad’ha without remembering Ibrahim (a), who represents in the Qur’an an ideal submission. He never hesitated to respond to the call and command of his Rabb. He never considered anything too precious to be withheld when it comes to the fulfilling the wish of his Rabb. Everything he was commanded by Allah, he fulfilled with honor and nobility. We are all too familiar with the story of his unwavering faith and conviction, and his supreme sacrifice as embodied in the event when he was ready to sacrifice his dear and only son to fulfill the wish of his Rabb. “Behold! his Rabb (Lord) said to him: “Bow/submit (your will to Me): He said: “I bow/submit (my will) to the Lord and Cherisher of the Universe.” [2/al-Baqarah/131]

Another member of this ideal family was the first son of Ibrahim (a), Ismail. The Qur’an presents him as like father, like son. “… (Abraham) he said: ‘O my son! I see in vision that I offer you in sacrifice: Now see what is your view!’ (The son) said: ‘O my father! Do as you are commanded: You will find me, if God so wills, one practising patience and constancy!” [19/as-Saffat/102]

In his submission to the will of his Rabb, Ismail was no less ideal. He submitted to the will of Allah whole-heartedly and with a heart full of peace and tranquility. Once again, there are very few among us who are not already familiar with the role and position of Ismail (a) in the heritage of Tawheed and the eternal truth.

In today’s khutbah, however, I want to focus on the not-so-familiar Legacy of a great woman, Mother Hajera (a), the wife of Ibrahim (a) and the mother of Ismail (a). Indeed, she is an integral and as important part of the legacy of Tawheed and the Millat of Ibrahim. Her submission to the will of her Rabb and her sacrifice were as ideal as that of Ibrahim (a) and Ismail (a). Allah has ennobled her in the Qur’an by making Safaa and Marwah integral to the performance of Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. These are the two hills between which she ran back and forth in search of water for her beloved infant son, while she was all alone according to the plan of Allah s.w.t. Himself. “Behold! Safaa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So if those who visit the House in the Season or at other times, should compass them round, it is no sin in them. And if any one obeys his own impulse to Good, be sure that Allah is He Who recognizes and knows.” [2/al-Baqarah/158]

If you have not read already, I invite all of you, my dear brothers and sisters, to read the hadith containing details of her story in Sahih al-Bukhari (Vol. 4, #583, Book of Ambiya or Prophets). It is a must reading.

Mother Hajera was not just a wife of Ibrahim (a), but she was deeply loved by him. But, once again, to fulfill the wish of Allah, he brought Mother Hajera and their beloved infant son, Ismail, to this abandoned, desolate, barren valley of Makkah. There was no such inhabited place called Makkah at that time.

As Ibrahim (a) brought Mother Hajera and Ismail (a) to that barren, rugged valley, she asks (as in the hadith): ‘O Ibrahim! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is neither any person nor anything else (to survive)?’ She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him, ‘Has God instructed you to do so?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’…

That was enough for Mother Hajera. Now she knew that it was according to the Divine Will. With the same nobility and dignity of faith as it ran in that family, “She said, ‘Then God will not neglect us.’ (In another version): ‘I am pleased to be (left) with Allah.’

Then Ibrahim (a) left and she was alone with her infant. Makka was not an inhabited place yet. Food and water that Ibrahim (a) provided them with were finished. Then, she started searching for water running back and forth through the valley between the hills of Safaa and Marwah. Finally, she was visited by the arch-angel Jibril (a). [This is an important point for Muslims to ponder: What kind of persons are visited individually by Jibril (a)?]

Then, water, in the form of an everflowing spring, the Zamzam, was made available to them by direct intervention of Allah. Right during that time, the tribe of Jurhum, passing by the valley saw birds flying. Realizing that water must be available, they searched and discovered Mother Hajera and Ismail. They sought permission to settle there. Thus, the desolate valley of Makkah became an inhabited area. Hadrat Ibrahim returned there much later and laid the foundaton of Ka’ba. Makkah ultimately was to emerge as a city; no, even greater than that, the perennial heartland of Tawhid, the belief in oneness of Allah.

Subhanallah, Allah is glorified. He took such a significant and noble service from a woman. But consider another aspect. What kind of situation Mother Hajera was placed into? In that desolate, uninhabited valley, what might have been going on in her mind?

She, while whole-heartedly submitted to her Rabb, was constantly searching, moving and struggling not remembering herself any longer, but to find some water and save her infant. What could she think about herself? Once she was slave only to be given away by her Master, a King representing the owning class; now a victim and a stranger, exiled and abandoned by her family all alone with her child in her arms! She hardly ever had a dignified identity. Had she not been the mother of Ismail (a), who would have recognized her for anything worth? There, in that barren place, her identity did not matter any further. Yet, she reposed her complete trust in her true Lord (Rabb) and was determined to pursue whatever she could in the Way of Allah.

Now ask yourself. Whom would you consider the Founder of Makkah as a city? Is there any other civilization, or even a city of this stature, that has been brought about by such primary contribution and sacrifice of a woman? How ironical, unfortunate, and insulting that the city that came into existence by a lone woman now does not allow women to drive a car by herself. Nor does it allow a woman to travel to hajj by herself, even though the Prophet Muhammad (s) himself had the vision that woman would travel someday alone to perform hajj and indeed, the vision did materialize.

It is so unfortunate that so little about her is talked about even on such pertinent occasion of which she is an integral part. I don’t recall myself listening to any Khutbah that highlighted her faith, sacrifice, and contribution that were second to none. Indeed, I have read Sahih al-Bukhari before too, until a Muslim intellectual of our time, whose mind is keen about women’s contribution in the heritage of Tawheed, drew my attention to this.

What men and women can learn from a woman, whose service and contribution ennobled the Hills of Safaa and Marwah to the status of “among the Sign of Allah,” which must be visited, and whose quest for saving the object of her love must be reenacted.

From far away as the pilgrims perform this reenactment, we also want to be like Ismail and have a share of this noble woman’s affection. But there is a greater symbolic implication!

This community of believers follow the Way of Prophet Muhammad, a way that primarily was designed after the Way of Ibraham and his family. The role that was played primarily by the family of Ibrahim, was broadly assumed by the Prophet Muhammad (s), but now involving not just his family, but the larger community of believers. This community (Ummah) is created for mankind!

As it was true then, it is also now, humanity is in pursuit of doom and destruction. Can we not, should we not, think of the humanity as Ismail destined for death, to save which love, affection, and restless passion of Mother Hajera are needed again and again? Did not the Prophet Muhammad (s) carry on that mission of mercy and affection, and thus he was the Rahmatulllil Alamin, according to the Qur’an? Did not his loyal companions fulfilled the same mission? Then, does not this community (Ummah) need to be conscious of the trust Allah has given to them, for which the community will be accountable? What could be a better occasion for us to remind ourselves of that trust and invite ourselves to reflect on this and respond accordingly?

In conclusion, what is there, then, to celebrate? Listen.

“Our Lord! Grant us what you did promise to us through your Prophets, and save us from the shame on the Day of Judgment: for you never break Your promise.” And their Rabb (Lord) has accepted of them, and answered them: “Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: you are members, one of another; those who have left their homes, or been driven out therefrom, or suffered harm in My Cause, or fought or been slain; Verily, I will blot out from them their iniquities, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath; A reward from the Presence of Allah, and from His Presence is the best of rewards. [3: ale Imran: 194-195]

For all the toil and struggle, the hardship and sacrifice, the efforts and pursuits, is it not truly deserving of celebration that our works will not be in vain, will not suffer any loss. This is a guarantee from none other than Allah.

For me, that is good enough. No, more than good enough. With all the worldly promises, guarantees, and warranties that give us a sense of security, one tends to forget that there is also a vast world of deceptions. If we cannot have peace of mind with the promise from Allah, we have no where to turn to. Thus, what could be more worthy of our celebration than the invitation of Allah to an eternal life of peace, happiness, and prosperity, an invitation that comes with the unfailing promise of Allah.

* This is abridged from a khutbah delivered on Eid al-Ad’ha in Iowa City, Iowa. The author is a former editor of NABIC Newsletter and a faculty at Upper Iowa University.

“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem.

Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Allah, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”

All Praise is due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sws, is His servant, and His messenger.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”

O You who believe, – Fear Allah, as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.

Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory…

My respected Brothers and Sisters,

By the Grace of Allah, we have completed another Ramadan. Another glorious month of Mercy, Forgiveness and Freedom from Hellfire has passed. A unique opportunity afforded to us for one precious month every year, where we can multiply our good deeds, has passed. We pray that Allah will accept our fasting and our other good deeds of the past month. Let us not be among the losers, who missed this opportunity, or who missed the main point of Ramadan. Let us not be among those who gained nothing from their fasting except hunger and thirst. They will have to wait for 11 months to get another opportunity. Let us ask Allah to spare us at least until next Ramadan. Let us in the meantime do our part of the bargain. Let us do the things that please Allah… the good Ramadan behaviour that we cultivated over the past few weeks. Let us try to fast at least one or 2 days a week, Mondays and Thursdays, throughout the year. Let us try to fast 6 days of Shawwal. But let us also today, think and reflect on what makes Ramadan so special.

It’s not just about fasting and feasting. Ramadan is pre-eminently the month of the Quran. It’s the month that contains a Night of Power, Lailatul Qadr, one night that’s worth more than 1,000 months. Why is this? What makes this night so special? Most people believe it was the 27^thnight of Ramadan, but it could well  be any of the last 5 odd nights, 21^st 23^rd, 25^th 27^th or 29^th. Allah alone knows for certain. This is the night in which Allah, the glorified and exalted, Rabbul Jalaal wal ikraam, the Lord of the Majesty and Honour, sent down His Archangel Gabriel, Jibreel alayis-salaam, to our earthly realm of time and space. The time was during the last ten nights of Ramadan in the year 610 of the Christian Era, and the place was in a cave on Jabal Nur, the Mountain of Light, near Makka. This is the epic story of One Night, One man, alone in cave, and One Book. Here Jibreel took Muhammad sws, the son of Abdullah, in a tight embrace, and commanded him to “Read.” Muhammad sws protested that he could not read, he was unschooled in reading and writing, but Jibreel persisted, and slowly, with great effort, the first majestic words of the Holy Qur’an rolled from Muhammad’s lips:

“Iqra! Bismi Rabbikal lathee khalaq! Khalaqal insaana min ‘alaq. Iqra! Wa Rabbukal akram. Al-lathee ‘al-lama bil qalam. ‘Al-lamal insaana maa lam ya’lam”.

“Read” in the Name of your Lord who created: He created man from a clinging form. Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, who taught by [means of] the pen, who taught man that which he did not know.”

Over the next 23 years, through pain, suffering and ultimate victory of truth over falsehood, the Words of Allah emerged from the timeless space-less realm of eternity, and entered into our earthly domain. These sacred words illuminated the spiritual darkness of Arabia in the 7th Century, and its irresistible light has beamed brightly down the ages. We must never forget what the world was like at the time, six hundred years after Jesus, Nabi Isa. The superpowers Rome and Persia were at war. Arabia and sunken back to idol worship. There were some Jews and Christians, but their scriptures were no longer the same revelations brought by Prophets Moses and Jesus. Through human error and human tampering, adding their own gospels, the Divine Word had been compromised. The pure monotheism taught by those great prophets, Moses and Jesus, was all but lost. It was time to put matters right. Allah’s answer was to send a ‘perspicacious Book,’ a Furqaan, a Criterion, to measure right from wrong, to distinguish truth from falsehood. The Holy Quran has reconstructed the pure original message of Divine Unity, the message of Tawheed, which was taught by all the Prophets. Those who describe Islam as a new religion are mistaken. Islam means peaceful submission to the One Who created everything. This is the oldest, not the newest Religion. The religion of One God, Tawheed, Divine Unity, is the same religion of all the Prophets from Adam through Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Prophet Muhammad sws himself said that he did not come to teach a new message, only to confirm and complete the message of earlier Prophets. The Holy Quran also confirms this with the last verse that was revealed at Arafat, during the Prophet Muhammad sws last Hajj:

“Al yawma akmaltu lakum deenakum, wa-at mamtu ‘alaykum ney’amatee, waradeetu lakumul Islaama deenaa.”

“This day have I perfected your religion for you, and completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [S.5:v3]

My dear Brothers and Sisters, 1400 years ago Prophet Muhammad sws faced an uphill task against vested interests of his time. You must remember that the Kaaba had 360 idols around it. Pilgrims came there to worship those idols and this made the guardians of the Kaaba, the Quraish tribe, very wealthy. Muhammad’s message of One God was not welcomed. Just like Moses, Prophet Musa’s message angered Pharaoh, Ramses II. So today also, the message of Islam is a threat to the Pharaohs and Emperors of the modern age. You can see them falling in front of your eyes today, in Egypt and Libya. This message says that everything belongs to God, and we human beings are the trustees, the Ambassadors of God. We have to care for everything in our environment as a sacred trust. We cannot just abuse and exploit other people, or the earth as if there is no tomorrow. This is the message of Islam. This is the message of Lailatul Qadr, the Night of Power, the Night of Glory. We who are the heirs, the inheritors of the Prophets, must carry this message forward: Worship no one but One God, serve your fellow human beings and care for our common living environment with love and devotion to the One who Created us all, until the end of your days.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the greetings and peace be upon the best messenger, Muhammad, the unlettered prophet; and upon his family and upon all of his companions.

Amma ba’ad, And, after this,

“Behold, Allah and his angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O you who believe! Ask for blessings on him, and salute him with a worthy greeting.

O Allah! Send your greetings upon Muhammad and his family, just as you sent your greetings on Abraham, and his family. O Allah, send your blessings on Muhammad and his family, just as you blessed Abraham and his family. In both worlds, you are praiseworthy and exalted.”

Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen. Was-salaatu was-salaamu alaa Khairil mursaleen. Muhammadin-nabeey-yil Ummiy-yee, wa-‘alaa aalihee, wasah-bihee, aj-ma’een.

Ammaa ba’ad:

InnAllaha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, wa alaa áli Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”

Part Two:

Sub’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem.

“All glory is for Allah, and all praise is for Allah; There is no power and no strength except with Allah.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

How can you and I get the most benefit from Ramadhan, and from Lailatul Qadr, the Night of Glory? Here are some suggestions:

• Firstly, let us not just forget fasting until next year. Let us do all the good things of Ramadhan throughout the year, to keep us spiritually healthy and focussed.
• It is a recommended Sunnah to fast for 6 days of Shawwal and some people also fast on every Monday and Thursday throughout the year. This is a wonderful habit, because it keeps us connected to the spirit of Ramadhan. It keeps us connected to Allah’s blessings and it keeps us self disciplined. It keeps us away from excessive eating and drinking. It moderates our behaviour. Prophet Muhammad said, the worst thing a man can fill is his stomach. We should fill one third with food, one third with water, and one third we should leave empty. This is very wise. We only recently discovered that it takes 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it’s full. So that’s why we overeat. During those crucial 20 minutes we continue to see, smell and taste all those goodies on the table, and our brain thinks we’re still hungry but the stomach has already said: Stop! Enough! But we can’t hear our stomachs. Let us take Prophet Muhammad sws advice and moderate our eating. It will help us to moderate everything else.
• A very important suggestion for non-Arabic speakers. I think that most of us here do not speak Arabic as a first language. Let’s really work hard to understand every prayer and every supplication, in Arabic and English. This is so important. Arabic is the language of the Quran and it’s the lingua franca, the common language of the Muslim world. We must say our prayers in Arabic, because, when we travel to any part of this planet, we can join any Muslim group in India or Brazil or Nigeria or Outer Mongolia. When we hear the adhaan it’s the same words we hear everywhere on earth. Isn’t Islam wonderful? Isn’t it wonderful to be part of this global family? Imagine! we can lead the prayers or follow the prayers anywhere on the planet, with no problems. But remember that only 18% of the world Muslim population is Arabic. The vast majority, 88% of us are non-Arabs who must make a special effort to understand our prayers properly in our mother tongue. If you took a random sample, you will find that many of us non-Arab Muslims do not even understand the meaning of our prayers. We learn the words in Arabic, like parrots but we seldom care to learn the meanings. This is wrong. Do you think that Allah will be impressed if you can recite His Holy Book with such beautiful and melodious tones, but your mind is disconnected, because you haven’t bothered to learn the meaning of what you say? Brothers and Sisters, lets resolve today to start learning the meanings of our prayers, and our supplications, Salaah and Du’ah, so that we can put meaning and feeling into our communication with Allah. While our lips are saying the words in Arabic, our hearts and minds must recite the translation in English. This will help us to engage with our Creator with meaning and feeling, in other words, with sincerity. In the final analysis, Allah is not impressed with our outward actions, but with the intention in our hearts. Allah deserves nothing less from us, but to be sincere to Him.

O Allah, help us to purify ourselves in body, mind, heart and spirit. Help us to seek and find your good pleasure, and O Allah, remember us in the company of your beloved friends.

My Lord, help me to perfect my prayer, and of my descendants, Our Lord, accept this prayer….

Rabbi ja’alni muqeemus salaati, wamin dur-riy-yati, Rabbanaa wata qabbal du’aah…

My Lord, forgive me, and my parents, and all Believers until the Day of Reckoning..

Rabbigh firlee wali waali dayya, walil Mu’mineena yawma yaqoomul hisaab…

“O Allah, do not let our hearts deviate from the Truth now that we have been guided , but grant us Mercy from Your very Presence, for You are the Grantor of bounties without measure.”

Rabbana laa tuzigh quloobanaa, ba’da ith hadaytanaa wahablanaa milla dunka Rahma. Innaka antal wah-haab.

Glory to Allah, Lord of Majesty and Honour, and Peace on the Prophets, and Praise to Allah, Lord of all creation!

“Soob’ haanaka Rabika Rabbil-‘’izzati ‘Ammaa yasifoon, wasalaamun ‘alal Mursaleen, wal Hamdu lil-Laahi Rabbil Aalameen.”

Ameen. Aqeemus salaah!

“We should always entertain the hope, the possibility that our worst enemies today could become our beloved brothers and sisters tomorrow…”

Arshad Gamiet/Royal Holloway University of London/Date 19 August 2011

(You can listen to this khutbah here: )

“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem

Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”

All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, sal-lal-laahu ‘alayhi wa sal-lam, is His servant, and His messenger.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Yaa ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, and die not except as Muslims.

Yaa ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”

O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.

In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa’, Allah says:

O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;― Be conscious of Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

In recent days, we’ve seen horrific scenes of arson, looting and mayhem on the streets of Britain. But out of the same chaos and confusion there has emerged some extraordinary examples of courage, generosity and wisdom. The mass media, which has become so accustomed to presenting Muslims in a bad light, could not ignore the huge public admiration for 2 Muslims in particular.

There was the Malaysian student who arrived in London only a month ago. He was attacked by thugs, left with a broken jaw and his belongings stolen by those very same people who pretended to help him. Despite his painful ordeal that was filmed and shared around the world, he wasn’t bitter, his admiration for this country was undiminished and he certainly didn’t want to go home yet. Interviewed in his hospital bed, he just said he felt very ‘sorry’ for his attackers, who were “so young,” He wasn’t thinking of himself, of his own pain. He wasn’t feeling sorry for himself. He didn’t wish his attackers any harm. This gentleness and generosity of spirit touched the hearts of millions. Within a few days, Facebook and Twitter raised £20,000 to help him fly his mother over to see him.

Meanwhile in Birmingham a very serious racial conflict was defused by a grieving father. Some of you may have followed this story. Tariq Jahan’s son was killed along with 2 brothers who were defending their property from rioters. A car was deliberately driven over them, killing all three. Muslims were very angry, and if  Tariq Jahan gave way to his emotions at this crucial time then who knows what terrible violence would have followed. Anger and revenge between black and Asian neighbours was near breaking point. But Tariq Jahan is no ordinary man. He must have learnt from Prophet Muhammad’s sws advice:

“Do not become angry. Do not become angry. Do not become angry.” (Hadith)

In a time of unspeakable grief, he knew that his reaction would have far reaching consequences, immediately and in the long term, here and elsewhere. So this is what he said:

“Blacks, Asians, whites — we all live in the same community. Why do we have to kill one another? Why are we doing this? I’ve just lost my son. Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise, calm down and go home — please!”

This heartfelt plea from a grieving father took everyone by surprise, especially people who feed on a diet of bad news about Muslims. Thousands responded on the internet and in newspapers. One person wrote: “I used to hate Muslims, but this grieving father’s words were so dignified, so persuasive and generous hearted, it moved me to tears. Now I’m ashamed of my hatred for them. I shall never hate Muslims again.”

Brothers and sisters, these words are as inspiring as they are humbling. They show us in a simple, practical way what we can achieve by not giving way to our anger, by not seeking revenge. Indeed, when we accept all the pain and loss that we suffer, simply as another test from Allah, then we are truly following the Straight Way, the siraat al mustaqeem.

What can we learn from the momentous events that swept Britain last week? Here are a few suggestions:

Don’t just give way to your anger in a crisis. It may be human to do so, but a real Muslim follows the Prophetic Sunnah, like Tariq Jehan did. Don’t get angry, don’t lash out. That only massages your bruised ego, your lower nafs. Do turn to your inner core, your pure heart, your qalb saleem, that you’ve trained so hard. Remember that Allah loves those who are patient and who persevere in times of hardship and distress. We know this from reading the Holy Quran in : Sura Al Baqara 2:153-6

“Ya ay yuhal latheena aamanus ta’eenu bis sabari was salaah. Innal laaha ma’as saabireen.”

“O you who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer; for Allah is with those who patiently persevere…”

Then the following verses continue:

“And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah: ‘They are dead.’ No, they are living, although you cannot perceive them.”

Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits of your hard work, but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere,

Who say, when they are afflicted with a calamity: “Inna lil laahi wa inna ilayhir raaji oon! To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return”

“Ulaa ika ‘alayhim salawaatun min Rabbikum, wa Rahmah, wa ulaa ika humul muhtadoon.”

“They are those on whome [descend] blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance.”

Brothers and sisters, if you ponder over these verses, you might think that they were written especially for the grieving families in Birmingham. But such is the majesty and beauty of Allah’s Book, revealed over 14 centuries ago, that its guidance and its healing and mercy will nourish the souls of Believers everywhere and always, until the end of time. SubhaanAllah!

“Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”

Second Khutbah:

“Soob’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem”

Glory to Allah!  Praise to Allah! There is no power and no strength except from Allah!

My dear sisters and brothers,

When we restrain our anger, when we wrestle with our lower nafs and we throw ourselves at the feet of Allah’s Mercy, some amazing things happen. The reward for showing our utter reliance on Allah has many unexpected consequences. One of the most surprising reports I read last week (UK Sunday Times 14^th August 2011) was that the racist (EDL) English Defence League’s leader was so moved by Tariq Jehan’s dignified example that he was going to ask all his members at their next meeting to hold a minute’s silence out of respect. Imagine that! At the beginning of the riots, reports were circulating that the EDL was planning arson attacks on mosques. We don’t know whether this is true or not. But a few days later, there’s a newspaper report that the EDL leader wants his followers to show some respect for the fallen Muslims in Birmingham. Allahu ‘alam! Allah knows best! Let us also remind ourselves that no matter how dire the situation, Allah can intervene in ways that we could never have hoped. Allah can change a heart from hatred to love in an instant. Allah has the key to all our hearts. Sura Al Anfal 8:24 reminds us that “Allah comes between a man and his heart…”

There are many who hate Muslims and who wish us harm. We should of course take sensible precautions to defend ourselves. But we should never forget that our enemies could one day become our brothers and sisters in faith. Never forget that Khaled ibn Walid, who bitterly fought the Muslims in the Battle of Badr, became the most famous military commander after Allah came between him and his heart. He conquered the Roman and Persian armies for Islam. Don’t forget Amr ibn al As, who led the Quraish delegation to Abyssinia. He tried unsuccessfully to persuade the King Najashi to return the first Muslim asylum seekers and to hand them over to their oppressors. Soon afterwards, Allah came between Amr and his heart. Amr conquered Egypt for Islam and built the fist mosque on the African continent in Al Fustat. And who can forget Sayyidna Omar, who hated Prophet Muhammad so bitterly that he unsheathed his sword and set out to kill our Nabi. But Allah came between him and his heart, and when he heard his sister reciting the opening verses of Sura Ta-Ha, his hard heart melted and this big, fearsome warrior was moved to tears. He actually took shahadah in front of Prophet Muhammad, still holding his sword in his hand, the same sword that was meant to kill our beloved Prophet!

What does all this mean, brothers and sisters? We all plan, but Allah is the best of planners. Don’t ever think that things out there are really as bad as they seem. Things could be a lot worse. Allah is completely in control of his entire creation. Slowly but surely, in ways we cannot always appreciate, Allah is fulfilling His Plan. We should never despair of Allah’s Mercy. Who knows… perhaps next Ramadan, some of those gangsters, rioters and former members of the EDL will be praying alongside us as our new brothers, for the taraweeh prayers! Who knows? Anything is possible for Allah. He has the key to unlock any heart! We should always entertain the hope, the possibility that our worst enemies today could become our beloved brothers and sisters tomorrow. This reminder is clearly given in Sura Al ‘Imran 3:103:

“Wa’tasimu bi hablil laahi jamee-aah…”

“And hold fast,  all together, by the Rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and do not be divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favour on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, you became brothers; and you were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His Signs clear to you: That you may be guided.”

My dear sisters and brothers, as we enter the last 10 days of Ramadan, the days of ‘freedom from hellfire,’ and the nights of laylatul Qadr, the Night of Power, let us reflect on the momentous events in our community. This is a crucial time for Muslims. There is some danger but there is also immense potential for good. This is no time for bruised egos, for settling old scores or for racial and tribal vendettas. Islam is too noble for such behaviour. Let us reach out to those who used to hate us and who now have doubts, so that we can share with them Allah’s beautiful message. The world is watching us. Let us become living examples of discipline, self control, humanity, mercy and Allah’s love. Let us pray that our three martyrs from Birmingham would not have died in vain. Let their example, and their fathers’ dignity at a time of unspeakable pain and grief, be an inspiration to Muslims and their neighbours all around the world. Great things happen in Ramadan. O Allah, let the tragedy in Birmingham become the key that unlocks the hearts of Islam-haters everywhere, so that their breasts can be opened Islam. Ameen!

Brothers and sisters, to conclude our khutbah:

InnaAllaha, Yamuru bil adel, wal ihsaan, wa eetaa-i zil qurba; wa yanha anil fuhshaa-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-karoon. (Sura 16:90),

“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.”

Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon [2:152].

“and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.”

wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu ya’lamu maa tasna’oon.” [29:45].

“and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”      

Ameen.    Aqeemus salaah

Introductory comments by Marc Manley:

The subject of religious literacy has been paramount on my mind for the past several years. Having stepped up on the minbar, I have had an opportunity to observe the Muslim community, if not from a bird’s eye view, at least from a few inches above the crowd. And one issue that seems to stand out clearly is the need for Muslims to have a foundation in religious literacy. Even just a few days ago, a young student approached me with a candiness I had to admire. He professed that on one hand, he wished to come to know and love the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم but that his main issue was that he was not clear on who the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم was and by proxy, what his Sunnah was. His courage to admit such a difficult quandry is as praiseworthy as it is insightful, for the young brother’s admission is far more common that we as a community might like to admit.

It is my hope in presenting Dr. Jackson’ short work here on the subject of af’al al-Nabi صلى الله عليه و سلم that it may help aid those who are looking for a foothold in the long ascent of coming to know and love the Best of Creation صلى الله عليه و سلم. I will also continue to update this article with as many of the direct sources as I can find and make them available so check back from time to time.

Philadelphia, 14th of Sha’ban, 1432AH.

Towards Empowering the Common Muslim

The Prophet’s Actions As a Source for Determining the Status of Things in Islam
By Dr. Sherman ‘Abd al-Hakim Jackson

INTRODUCTION

Praise be to God, the Lord of all being and becoming. Almighty, Compassionate God, we beg of You Your aid, Your forgiveness and Your guidance. We seek refuge in You from the evil that attaches to our souls and from the wickedness that assails our deeds. We believe in You. And we believe that whomsoever You guide, none shall be able to lead them astray. And whomsoever you leave to wander, none shall be able to guide them. Guide us, therefore, our Lord. And hear our testimony: We bear witness that there is no god except God and that Muhammad, the 7th century Arabian, is His servant and His messenger. May God’s blessings and salutations be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, and upon his Companions, his family and his followers all.

To proceed: It has become a common occurrence among Muslims that in discussing whether a particular action is permissible (halal) or forbidden (haram), the actions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم are introduced as evidence. “The Prophet never did that!,” one often hears as proof that a particular action is forbidden. On the other hand, what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did is just as often pointed to as proof of what a Muslim must do. To most Muslims, this approach represents little more than a firm commitment to “following the Sunna of the Prophet.” In reality, however, this is an oversimplification that may not only cause harm and difficulty but may also amount, in the final analysis, to the opposite of “following the Sunna of the Prophet.”

This small pamphlet is an effort to introduce the common Muslim to the manner in which thefuqaha’ فقهاء (scholars of Islamic law) dealt with the actions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as a source of Islamic law. In so doing, it will not be our intention to present the view of anyonemadhhab مذهب or school (classical or modem), nor to delve into the minor differences among them on questions of detail. The sole aim of this pamphlet is to empower the average Muslim to understand and implement the actions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in a manner that is intelligent and consistent with what the Prophet himself صلى الله عليه وسلم would have intended. To this end, we will look at the views of scholars from all four Sunni schools, as well as some who went beyond the traditional schools. This is in order to be able to present what was generally recognized by Muslim tradition as a whole, instead of privileging the view of one particular scholar from one particular school, time or place.

THE ACTIONS OF THE PROPHET (AF’AL AL-NABI)

Muslim scholars dealt with the actions of the Prophet (SA WS) under the heading of af’al al-Nabi, أفعال النبي literally, “the actions of the Prophet.” Part of what is being conveyed by this designation is the fact that the actions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم are fundamentally different from his statements. While both of these fall within the general realm of his Sunna, the Prophet’s words are recognized as being different from his actions in terms of the clarity and precision with which they convey meaning. This is because. while language is the shared property of the community that speaks it, actions are specific to individuals and may have no meaning beyond the individual who commits them. In other words, every utterance of a language has meaning that is determined and shared by that language’s community of speakers. As such, when speaking a language, an individual can only convey meanings that are recognized by the community as belonging to the words that he or she uses. For example, if I want someone to stand up, I issue the verbal command, “Stand up.” This use of the imperative is a standard, consistent and clearly identifiable way of issuing commands. As such, whenever I use this imperative, it will necessarily convey the wish that an act of standing take place. This is independent even of any intention on my part. If I say, “Stand up,” I cannot claim that what I really meant was “Cheddar cheese tastes good.” If I do, the community will judge me to be mad. This is because the community has already determined the meaning that goes along with these words. And until the community arrives at a new understanding of these words, no one will be able to use them without imparting this agreed-upon meaning or as a means of clearly conveying any other meaning.

Actions, on the other hand, are different. While the words. “Stand up,” take only one form (i.e., the imperative) and convey only one meaning, regardless of who is using them, an actual act of standing up may take many forms and convey many meanings, none of which the community necessarily recognizes or agrees upon and all of which may be unique to the individual actor. A young man, for example, will stand up in a manner that differs from the way an older man will; a shy person will stand up in a manner that differs from the manner in which a confident person will; a female may rise to her feet in a way that is slightly different from the way in which a male does. Most importantly, in all of these cases, the meaning attributed to any of these individuals’ acts of standing is not contained in the act itself but must be deduced from other considerations outside the act. If the doorbell rings, I assume a person stands up in order to answer the door. If another individual enters the room, I might assume that the person stands up in order to greet them; or maybe he or she stands up in preparation to flee, or as a simple gesture of respect. Where, however, there is no doorbell and no other person entering the room, I might not be able to attribute any meaning at all to a person’s act of standing. Maybe they stood up to stretch their legs; but maybe they needed to get a better look at the clock on the wall; maybe they were suddenly hit by a thought that excited them to the point of moving them to their feet.

Unlike words, then, actions are generally far less direct and far less precise in conveying meaning. This is why it is possible to compose dictionaries containing the direct and precise meanings of words, but it is not possible to compose dictionaries containing the direct and precise meanings of actions. In the case of words, silence is the norm while speech is the exception. Thus, we assume that a person only speaks in order to convey some specific meaning. In the case of action, however, movement is the norm, while non-movement is the exception. As such, an action (e.g., moving the chest in and out while breathing) may occur without there being any intention at all to convey any meaning. For this reason, it is often necessary to look beyond the action itself in order to determine what its actor meant by it, if, indeed, he or she meant anything at all. This is why Muslim scholars treated the Prophet’s actions صلى عليه وسلم in a manner that was different from the way they treated his statements.

The books on legal methodology (usul al-fiqh أصول الفقه) all include sections that give detailed instructions on how to decode the Prophet’s statements according to the formal structure of his words and sentences. For example, whenever the Prophet used an indefinite object (in English this would be a word that is preceded by the indefinite article “a” or “an”) in a direct command, e.g., “Feed a poor person,” it was automatically concluded that this command could be fulfilled by a single act of feeding any poor person, male, female, Muslim, non-Muslim. This held as long as there was no other evidence that restricted this feeding, e.g., to Muslim poor persons. On the other hand, no such mechanical decoding could be used in interpreting the Prophet’s actions. As we shall see, unless there was evidence indicating that the Prophet committed a particular act as a means of explaining how to carry out something already established in the Qur’an or Sunna, or as a means of drawing closer to God (qurbah قربة), a Prophetic act such as feeding a poor person might impart nothing more than the permissibility of doing so.

SOME BASIC PREMISES

We may begin with the general statement of the great Spanish scholar of the Zahirite school, Ibn Hazm (d. 456/1063). Unlike the other scholars whose views we will survey, Ibn Hazm is concerned almost exclusively with the claim that it is obligatory (wajib, fard واجب, فرض) to emulate the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in everything he did. Ibn Hazm insists that this is a claim for which there is no proof from the Qur’an or Sunna. He is aware that a commonly cited would-be proof is the verse from suwrah al-Ahzab: “There is for you in the Messenger of God a beautiful example … (La qad kana lakum fi rasulullahi uswatun hasanah … لقد كان لكم في رسول الله أسوة حسنة”. This, however, argues Ibn Hazm, is actually proof against those who claim that it is obligatory to follow every action of the Prophet. For he points out that the verse contains the phrase “for you (lakum لكم).” And, according to him, anyone who has a basic knowledge of Arabic knows that if an Arab says to you “This is for you (hadha laka هذا لك),” this would not mean that you were under any obligation to take it. Rather, you would merely enjoy the right or privilege of taking it, at your own discretion. In the same way, Ibn Hazm argues that what the verse in question really establishes is that, outside of explaining how to carry out duties already established in the Qur’an or Sunna, the Prophet’s actions are simply made available for those who would like to avail themselves of them, at their own discretion.

Beyond this, Ibn Hazm insists that those who argue that it is obligatory to follow the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم in everything he did are both arbitrary and inconsistent in holding this position. For, he argues … such a position leads to nonsense and requires of those who hold it that they make it obligatory upon every Muslim to live exactly where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم lived, to place their feet in exactly the same places he placed his feet, to pray in exactly the same places he prayed, to fast on exactly the same days he fasted, to sit exactly as he sat, and to move in exactly the way that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made his every move … But no Muslim (scholar) has ever held any of these things to be obligatory¹.

Despite his fiery, confrontational language, Ibn Hazm’s discussion is actually quite instructive. In fact, he provides an extremely important insight into the very meaning of what many scholars who held it to be obligatory to follow the Prophet’s actions may have actually meant by this, and how this may have been mistakenly expanded into a blanket obligation to follow the Prophet in his every action.

Ibn Hazm notes that there is a difference between simply not following the Prophet in his every action and refusing to follow him in his actions as a matter of principle. In the latter case, the implication is that by following the Prophet one may be jeopardizing one’s salvation and standing with God. Thus, in order to preserve and protect oneself, one avoids even the actions of the Prophet, “just to be safe.” Among his examples, Ibn Hazm points to those who refuse to kiss their wives during the fast of Ramadan, despite their knowledge that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم kissed his wives. The implication here is that the Prophet’s example is not reliable, and that even if one follows him perfectly, one might not attain salvation in the Hereafter. In other words, despite a man ‘s knowledge that the Prophet kissed his wives during the fast of Ramadan, he will intentionally refuse (tanazzaha ‘an تنزه عن) to kiss his wife because he wants to “make sure “ that he achieves the highest standing with God and that he does not engage in any actions that might earn God’s displeasure². This implies, of course, that the Prophet either had imperfect knowledge of what would attain God’s pleasure or that he intentionally engaged in actions that would earn God’s displeasure. In either case, his example is unreliable, and one is forced, therefore, to devise his or her own foolproof way to salvation.

This, incidentally, is the real meaning of bid’a بدعة (unsanctioned innovation),as explained by one of the most important writers on that subject, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. Musa al-Shatibi (d. 790). Al-Shatibi was the author of a two-volume book entitled al-I’tisam الاعتصام (Holding Fast), hailed by many as the best book ever written on the subject of bid’a. In this work, al-Shatibi gives the following definition for bid’a:

البدعة طريقة في الدين مخترعة تضاهي الشرعية يقصد بالسلوك عليها ما يقصد بالطريقة الشرعية

“A concocted manner of proceeding in religion that mimics the scripturally mandated way, with the aim of achieving through this concocted way that which should only be sought through the scripturally mandated way (al-bid’atu tariqatun mukhtara’atun fi al-din tudahi al-tariqata al-shar’iyah yuqsadu bi al-suluki ‘alayha ma yuqsadu bi al-tariqah al-shar’iyah).”³

In other words, bid’a is not simply committing an act that the Prophet did not commit or failing to commit an act that the Prophet actually did. Bid’a is, rather, committing or avoiding such actions as a means of making up one’s own way to God. In other words, the real issue is not whether an act is committed or not; the real issue is the religious value that one attributes to the commission or non-commission of an act. In this context, even Ibn Hazm would insist that it was obligatory to follow the actions of the Prophet⁴. What he meant, however, was that if one wants to attain God’s pleasure, one cannot imagine and seek to make up a more perfect way of achieving this than following the example of the Prophet⁵. This did not mean, as we shall further see, that it was obligatory to do or not do everything the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did and did not do.

The Basic Approach to Assessing the Prophet’s Actions

The overwhelming majority of scholars agreed with the basic outlook of Ibn Hazm, i.e ., that it was not obligatory to follow the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in everything he did. They also agreed, however, that it was obligatory to follow him in some things. Regarding many, if not the bulk, of the Prophet’s actions, however, they held that it was simply recommended (mandub مندوب,mustahabb مستحب) or permissible (mubah مباح) to follow him⁶. On a minority of issues, such as where the Prophet’s actions were deemed to be specific to him, e.g., the number of wives allowed to him, they agreed that following him was forbidden (haram حرام).

Generally speaking, scholars divided the actions of the Prophet (SAWS) into two distinct categories:

1. “Clarifying actions“: These were Prophetic actions whose purpose it was to clarify some duty already addressed in only general terms in the Qur’an or Sunna (bayanan li mujmalin fi al-qur’an wa al-sunna بيانا لمجمل في القرآن و السنة). Regarding these actions, the general rule was that they acquired the same ruling, i.e., obligatory, recommended or neutral, as the thing they clarified. Thus, for example, where the Prophet (SAWS) performs an action as a means of clarifying the obligation to perform prayer, pilgrimage or the punishment for theft, such an action would generally – but not always- be deemed obligatory, like prayer, pilgrimage or the punishment for theft themselves.
2. “Spontaneous actions“:These were Prophetic actions that were not performed for the purpose of clarifying any pre-existing dictate of the Qur’an or Sunna. Rather, the Prophet performed these actions out of personal preference, recognition of a particular community or neighborly need, in response to some unanticipated situation, as a spontaneous gesture of gratitude to God, or for some other reason. Such spontaneous actions were further divided into two basic subcategories.
3. Those that were performed with the explicit intention of “drawing near to God (qurbah قربة).”
4. Those that were not performed with the explicit intention of “drawing near to God.”

Again, there was a general consensus (ijma’ اجماع)that it was obligatory to follow the Prophet’sclarifying actions whenever these were performed for the purpose of clarifying an act established by the Qur’an or Sunna. There was also general agreement, however, that where the action to be clarified was only recommended, it was likewise only recommended to follow the Prophet’s act regarding it. In other words, the general rule was that clarifying actions took on the same status as the thing they clarified — obligatory, recommended or neutral. In pre-modem limes, this was a very simple and straightforward rule. In modem times, however, it has become somewhat problematic, given a certain confusion that has developed around the term “sunna.”

As is well known, there are five legal categories or rulings (ahkam أحكام/s. hukm حكم) recognized by Islamic law. These are: 1) obligatory (واجب wajib, فرض fard), 2) discouraged (مكروه makruh), 3) neutral (مباح mubah), 4) recommended (مندوب mandub, مستحب mustahabb), and 5) forbidden (حرامharam). When God or the Prophet issue a command and it is understood that failure to perform this act incurs punishment in the Hereafter, while performing it incurs reward, that act is said to be obligatory. An example of this would be the five daily prayers. When failure to avoid an act is deemed to incur punishment in the Hereafter while avoiding it incurs reward, that act is said to be forbidden. Adultery would be an example here. When failure to perform an act is not deemed to incur punishment but performing it is deemed to incur reward, that act is said to be recommended. Paying severance gift to one’s divorced wife is said to be recommended in the Maliki school. When failure to avoid an act is not deemed to incur punishment but avoiding it is deemed to incur reward, that act is said to be discouraged. According to the Hanafi school, it is discouraged for women to lead other women in congregational prayers. Acts that incur neither reward nor punishment in the Hereafter are said to be neutral and are often simply referred to as “permissible.⁷”

Now, one of the alternative terms for the recommended (mandub, mustahabb) category is the term “sunna.” In pre-modem times, this was clearly understood. But in modem times, especially in America, many are unable to distinguish between “sunna” as a recommended act — for whose non-performance there is no punishment — and “sunna” as “the sunna of the Prophet” — whose complete abandonment is likely to result bid’a. On this confusion, one who chooses not to perform an act that is merely recommended — which, according to Islamic law, he or she has every right to do — often ends up being accused of having engaged in bid’a or of having abandoned the “sunna of the Prophet.” By right, the charge of having abandoned the sunna of the Prophet should be reserved for those who fail or refuse to follow the Prophet in something regarding which it is obligatory to follow him, or those who abandon his sunna altogether. As for one who chooses, for example, not to pray two rak’ahs before the morning prayer, he or she should not be charged with having totally abandoned the Prophet’s sunna. For there may be many other aspects of the Prophet’s sunna, e.g., witr, that this person practices assiduously. Moreover, if a person has no choice but to offer two rak’ahs before the morning prayer, this would mean that these two rak’ahs were not recommended but rather obligatory.

Turning to the Prophet’s spontaneous actions, here is where the bulk of scholarly discussion occurred. According to the Spanish Malik, scholar, Abu al-Walid al-Baji, there was disagreement in the Maliki school regarding spontaneous actions of the Prophet that he performed for the purpose of drawing near to God. According to al-Baji, the majority held that following the Prophet in these actions was obligatory. Others held, however, that it was only recommended. Al-Baji himself supports the view of those who say that such actions are obligatory, unless there is additional proof that they are only recommended or permissible. As proof, he cites the verse from surah al-A’raf, “… and follow him, perhaps you might be guided,” the verse from surah al-Nur, “let those who go against his affair beware …,” and the verse from surah al-Ahzab, “There is indeed a beautiful example for you in the Messenger of God.” He also points to the fact that the Companions immediately implemented the Prophet’s practice of performing a full ghusl in cases where there was no ejaculation. During the course of his treatment, however, al-Baji points to an important distinction that is taken up by several other scholars, as we shall see.

According to al-Baji, only if there are no indications that a Prophetic act of qurbah was performed as a recommended or permissible act must we accept any obligation to follow it. If we do take as obligatory an action that the Prophet only intended to be recommended or permissible, we are not following but going against the Prophet’s sunna. All of this is another way of saying that not every outward appearance of following the Prophet amounts to a proper act of “following the Prophet’s sunna.⁸” In fact, depending on the religious value attributed to such an outward act of following the Prophet, it might actually amount to an act of bid’a⁹.

As for spontaneous actions that are not performed with the specific intention of drawing near to God, e.g., eating, drinking, walking, putting on clothes, here al-Baji reports that most Maliki scholars held that following such actions was neutral. He notes, however, that some Maliki held such actions to be recommended. Included among such actions, according to them, were such things as eating with one’s right hand or putting on one’s left shoe before putting on’ one’s right one. Al-Baji himself comes out in favor of the view of the majority. He argues that inasmuch as there can be no doubt that there was no obligation to eat¹⁰ or wear shoes in the first place, the most that could be recommended would be the manner in which one ate or put on one’s shoes. In other words, al-Baji’s position was essentially that the Prophet’s having eaten or worn shoes do not render it obligatory or even recommended for us to eat or wear shoes. What the Prophet’s action implies, rather, is that whenever a Muslim does eat or put on shoes, it is recommended that he or she eat with their right hand and to put on their right shoe before putting on their left.

This basic “clarifying — spontaneous — qurbah — non-qurbah” approach to Prophetic actions is repeated in almost all the major works of legal methodology. The Shafi’i, Sayf al-Din al-Amidi (d. 631), for example, repeals this basic layout. Like al-Baji, he concludes that it is not obligatory but merely permissible to follow the Prophet’s spontaneous actions that he did not commit in an attempt to draw near to God. Unlike al-Baji, however, al-Amidi insists that where the Prophet does commit actions in an attempt to draw near to God, such actions occupy a position between obligatory and recommended, i.e., a little stronger than just recommended but not quite to the point of being obligatory¹¹.

The Shafi ‘i, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606) and his Maliki commentator Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi (d.684/ 1285)¹² also repeat the “clarifying — spontaneous — qurbah — non-qurbah” distinctions, though they add a few minor details¹³. In contradistinction to al-Baji, however, al-Razi holds — and al-Qarafi approves of this — that actions of the Prophet performed with the aim of drawing near to God are only recommended — not obligatory — until proven otherwise.

As for the Hanbalis, according to the famous al-Musawwadah fi usul al-Fiqh (Manuscript on Legal Methodology) of the three great Hanbalis, Ibn Taymiyah (d.728/1328), his father and his grandfather, the dominant tendency in the Hanbali school was to follow the “clarifying — spontaneous — qurbah — non-qurbah” approach. According to them, clarifying actions took on the same status as the act they clarified. Spontaneous actions performed for the purpose of drawing near to God were simply permissible. As for spontaneous actions not performed for the purpose of drawing near to God, there was a difference of opinion among Hanbalis. Some held these to recommended, while others insisted that they were simply permissible¹⁴. Particularly interesting in the case of the Hanbalis, however, is the fact that they are explicit on a point that many others only allude to, namely that Muslims are not required to avoid actions simply because the Prophet never practiced them. In their words, “His having abandoned a particular action imposes no obligation upon us to abandon it.¹⁵”

Outside the four schools, there is the view of the famous al-Shawkani. He also follows the “clarifying — spontaneous — qurbah — non-qurbah” approach¹⁶. According to him, it is obligatory upon Muslims to follow the Prophet in his clarifying actions and to give them the same status as the thing they clarified. He holds spontaneous actions performed by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم for the purpose of drawing near to God to be at least recommended. As for spontaneous actions that do not appear to have been for the purpose of qurbah, al-Shawkani professes that he cannot imagine the Prophet performing such actions. As such, he holds that since there must be at least some element of qurbah in these actions, it is recommended for Muslims to follow them¹⁷. Like other jurists, al-Shawkani notes that if we know that the Prophet did something voluntarily and we follow his action as an obligatory duty, we are not following his example¹⁸. In fact, he insists, if we attribute obligatory status to an action of the Prophet without actually knowing that he treated it as an obligatory act, we are not following his example¹⁹.

In sum, the “clarifying — spontaneous — qurbah — non-qurbah” approach to Prophetic actions was the rule rather than the exception among the major scholars of Islamic legal methodology. There were, of course exceptions to this — as one might expect in any healthy intellectual culture. Yet, upon close examination, even those who diverged from this approach show themselves in the end to be in agreement with its conclusions.

To take one example, the Hanafi jurist, Abu Bake al-Sarakhsi (d.490) does not subscribe to the standard “clarifying — spontaneous — qurbah — non-qurbah” approach. Rather, he simply divides the Prophet’s actions into 1) those that are shared by all humans as a simple function of human nature, e.g., sleeping, bowel movements, etc.; and 2) those that are not a simple function of human nature but relate more specifically to the Prophet’s mission as prophet. Those actions that are merely a function of the Prophet’s humanity are immediately disqualified as a basis for any action by a Muslim²⁰. As for those that were undertaken in his capacity as Prophet, al-Sarakhsi invokes a very simple rule: The basic status of all Prophetic actions is that it is permissible to follow them until some other proof (dalil) is found that would place them in some other category, such as recommended or obligatory²¹. In other words, while it might be obligatory to follow the Prophet on a certain non-clarifying action, such actions will be presumed to be permissible until proven otherwise.

OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES

Muslim scholars’ approaches to Prophetic actions were both judicious and straightforward. According to the general consensus, only those actions deemed to have been carried out as a means of clarifying a previously revealed injunction were assumed to be obligatory. Beyond that, depending on circumstances, an action could assume anyone of the five legal statuses recognized under Islamic law. The bulk of the scholars’ time was consumed not in explicating this simple rule but rather in responding to would-be objections by those who might argue, as many do today, that it is obligatory to follow the Prophet in everything he did and did not do. This took the form of responding to certain Qur’anic verses or Prophetic hadith. As many of these arguments may still be heard today, I shall briefly review the most oft-repeated and important of these.

Among the most commonly cited Qur’anic proofs are the following:

1. “… and follow him and fear God … ” [6: 155]
2. “… let those who go against his affair beware … ” [24: 63]
3. “… and whatever the Prophet gives you, take it . .. ” [59: 8]
4. “There is indeed for you in the Messenger of God a beautiful example for whomever desires God and the last day … ” [32: 21]
5. “Say, If you love God. then follow me …. ” [3: 31]
6. “Say, Obey God and obey the Messenger.” [4: 59]
7. “So when Zayd consummated his marriage to her. We married her to you so that there would be no shame on the believers regarding the wives of their adopted sons after the latter have consummated their marriage to them. ” [32: 37]

The majority of scholars insist that these verses do not prove that it is obligatory to follow the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in everything he did and that those who rely on such verses have either misconstrued them or seek to force out of them that which they do not contain. They give several responses to these verses, some of them quite complex. For the sake of brevity and simplicity, I will limit myself to the most straightforward of these.

As for the verse, “…. and follow him …,” al-Amidi intimates that even if it could be used to argue that one must follow the Prophet, this would not translate into a blanket- obligation to follow all of his actions as obligatory acts. That is to say, while it might be obligatory to follow the Prophet, this obligation might only be met in some instances by treating certain actions of his as recommended or permissible²². This is the same response that al-Shawkani gives for the verse,“Say. if you love God, then follow me.²³“ Al-Razi also appears to give a similar response²⁴. This is also essentially the argument given by al-Sarakhsi, though al-Sarakhsi adds an interesting twist. He points out that it is important to know how the Prophet himself صلى الله عليه وسلم understood his actions in order to be able to follow him properly. For it is certain, he points out, that the Prophet never drank wine even before it was forbidden by revelation. Yet, no one would be justified in arguing that it was forbidden for Muslims to drink wine before revelation outlawed it²⁵.

As for the verse, “let those who go against his affair beware … “ al-Shawkani points out that the Arabic word “amr أمر” (translated here as “affair”) normally refers to the Prophet’s statements, i.e., his orders, not his actions. In this particular case, however, this is of limited relevance, since, according to the widely accepted rule of Arabic syntax, the “his” in “his affair” should be understood to refer to God, not the Prophet, since God is the most recently mentioned entity..²⁶Al-Razi also argues that “amr” applies more readily to words and commands than it does to actions²⁷. And al-Amidi gives a similar (though slightly more complex) argument²⁸.

As for the verse, “… whatever the Prophet gives you, take it,” al-Amidi gives an argument similar to the one he gave in response to the verse, “and follow him.” That is to say, only if the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم understood his own action to be obligatory would “take what he gives you” translate into an obligation to follow him in these things²⁹. Al-Amidi says that this also applies to the verse,“There is indeed for you a beautiful example in the Messenger of God,” and the verse “If you love God, then follow me.” As for al-Shawkani, he argues that “what (ma ما)” in “what he gives you“applies to his statements, i.e., his verbal commands, not his actions. This is supported by the fact that the second half of the verse reads, “And what he forbids you, desist from it.” Al-Shawkani notes that just as “what” in this part of the verse can only apply to verbal commands, so too must it apply to only verbal commands in the first part of the verse. Beyond this, al-Shawkani insists that one can only “take” commands and prohibitions, not actions³⁰.

As for the verse, “There is indeed for you in the Messenger of God beautiful example,” we have seen the argument of Ibn Hazm above. This argument is repeated by al-Shawkani, al-Amidi, al-Razi, al-Qarafi and al-Sarakhsi. Indeed, it appears to be the standard argument against using this verse as proof that it is obligatory to follow the Prophet’s actions. However, al-Shawkani adds to this that taking the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم as one’s example (al-ta’assi bihi التأسي به) entails attributing to his actions the same status that he himself attributed to them. Thus, one must hold those actions of his that he committed as obligatory to be obligatory, those he held to be recommended to be recommended, and so forth³¹. This is also the argument applied by a number of scholars to the verses “If you love God, then follow me,” and “Obey God and obey the Messenger.” In other words, obedience and following can only be achieved by attributing to the Prophet’s actions the same weight and status he attributed to them.

As for the verse involving Zayd, al-Amidi points out that the most they indicate is that the Community is equal to the Prophet in terms of the rulings that apply to both. In other words, whenever the Prophet is allowed or forbidden to do something, it is assumed that the Community is allowed or forbidden that thing also, un less there is proof that this command or prohibition that was specific to the Prophet³². Al-Qarafi poses a similar argument and adds that technically the verse speaks only of God’s act of marrying the Prophet to Zaynab, not of the Prophet’s act of marrying her³³. In sum, the general consensus is that all Zayd’s marriage to Zaynab proves is that it is permissible to follow the Prophet, not obligatory. Otherwise, all of the Companions who had adopted sons would have been obligated to marry the former wives of their adopted sons.

Besides these verses, those who argue that it is obligatory to follow the Prophet’s every action also point to the practice of the Companions. Several cases of the Companions following the Prophet’s actions are referred to as proof that they understood it to be obligatory to follow him. Examples include the hadith in which the Prophet removed his shoes during prayer and the Companions promptly followed him by removing theirs, the incident at al-Hudaybiyah where the Prophet ordered the Companions to shave their heads but none of them did so, but when he shaved his own head (at the suggestion of his wife, Umm Salamah) they promptly followed suit. Another oft-cited example is the Companions resolving their dispute over the requirement to take a full ritual bath (ghusl) after intercourse with no ejaculation, based on ‘A’ishah’s report that the Prophet took a full bath in such cases. In fact, this particular incident is claimed to constitute a unanimous consensus (ijma’) among theCompanions, which Islamic legal theory holds to be a permanently binding sourced of law.

Scholars of Islamic legal methodology also deal with these arguments. As for the Companions taking off their shoes, it is pointed out that the hadith itself indicates that it was not obligatory for them to follow the Prophet in all he did. After the prayer was over, the Prophet himself asked the Companions, “Why did you take of your shoes?” As al-Sarakhsi points out, had the Prophet made it obligatory upon theCompanions to follow him in everything he did, this question would have made no sense³⁴. As for the incident at al-Hudaybiyah, this was clearly a clarifying action of the Prophet, one that followed a verbal command by him. Moreover, rather than proving that it is obligatory to follow the Prophet in all his actions, what this incident really proves is that the Companions didn’t even understand all of the Prophet’s verbal commands to imply obligation. In other words, even when he verbally commanded them to do certain things, they sometimes took his commands to be recommendations rather than obligations.

Perhaps most interesting of all is an argument put forth by al-Sarakhsi. He notes that if the Companions had understood that it was obligatory to do everything the Prophet did, they would also have held it to be obligatory to avoid everything he did not do. For us, this would mean refusing to speak English or to marry non-Arab women, since the Prophet did neither of these. In the case of the Companions, it would have meant holding all kinds of things to be forbidden that everyone knows were not forbidden. For example, it is known that even before wine was made forbidden the Prophet never drank wine. If the Companions bad held everything the Prophet did not do to be forbidden, they would also have held wine to be forbidden even before revelation forbade it. But this we know not to be the case, as is made clear by the Qur’an itself: “O you who believe, do not approach prayer while you are in a state of drunkenness ….. [surah al-Nisa', 43]“Second, al-Sarakhsi notes, if the Companions had held that it was obligatory to follow the Prophet in everything he did, they would have remained at his side at all times, in order to know what he was doing at all times in order to be able to follow him. But this too we know not to have been the case³⁵.

As for the claim of consensus based on the hadith of ‘ A’ishah, it has been pointed out that the Companions who resolved their dispute over this issue were not all of the Companions. As such, their decision did not constitute a unanimous consensus³⁶. Moreover, as al-Shawkani points out, they followed the Prophet in this case by attributing to his action the same status they assumed him to have attributed to it. They could have just as easily concluded that it was merely recommended to take a full bath in such instances³⁷.

CONCLUSION

There can be no doubt that the Sunna of the Prophet is a binding source of Islamic law and doctrine, second only to the Qur’an. In fact, in terms of its actual authority, the Sunna is actually equal to the Qur’an, as is clearly established by the Qur’an itself: “Whoever obeys the Prophet has obeyed God (—-).” As Muslims, we are thus bound to submit to both the Qur’an and the Sunna. And there can be no question about the status or the Sunna of the Prophet among Muslims.

The question, however, is, “What is the proper way to follow the Prophet’s Sunna?” It is unfortunate that in our times this Question is routinely treated in the most sloppy and cavalier fashion. In fact, many have fallen into the habit of exploiting and abusing the Sunna of the Prophet for purely selfish or ideological reasons. They indiscriminately proclaim that it is obligatory to follow the Prophet in everything he did. And they insist that anything he did not do, we are forbidden to do.

This small pamphlet has outlined the manner in which the great scholars of Islam addressed the issue of how to follow the actions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. We may summarize their general conclusions as follows:

Whenever the Prophet’s action is understood to clarify something already established in the Qur’an or his Sunna, that action takes on the same status as the thing it clarifies. It may be obligatory, recommended or permissible.

Whenever the Prophet’s action is understood to be spontaneous (i.e., it is not clarifying something already established), if the Prophet committed this action as I means of drawing near to God, most scholars hold it to be between recommended and permissible, though some hold It be between obligatory and recommended.

If the spontaneous action is not understood to be for the sake of drawing near to God, the general consensus it that such actions are between recommended and neutral.

Given this perspective of the great scholars of Islam, it is interesting and, indeed, lamentable, that many Muslims today readily acknowledge that one does not have to prayer two or four rak’ahsbefore and after Zuhr, but they will insist that one must wear a turban or eat with one’s bare hands. They allow for the divergence from actions that the Prophet did in an obvious attempt to draw near to God, but they allow for no divergence from actions that he clearly did not do for this purpose. Clearly, this is the result of a desire and attempt to impose upon the actions of the Prophet symbolic and ideological significance that he himself never attributed to them. And it is precisely this tendency that we must dedicate ourselves to eliminating from our personal and collective lives. For only when we commit ourselves to following the Prophet in the manner in which he intended for us to follow him are we likely to earn the pleasure of our Lord and reinvest the Prophet’s Sunna with the sweetness and nectar that it had for the early generations of Muslims.

Islam is a marathon, not a fifty-yard dash. Given the average lifespan of a human being, a Muslim in his or her twenties will have to practice Islam for another fifty years. It is important to understand that different individuals need and are able to make use of different things at different times in their lives. A young man in his teens has little use for a Medicare plan; a woman in her seventies has little use for a four-year scholarship to college. The Prophet, however, was a model for all people for all time. As such, his example might be likened to a medicine cabinet that has the cure for every disease but whose entire contents no individual need consume. A stingy person will not be cured of stinginess by imitating the Prophet’s courage in battle. A lazy person will not overcome slothfulness by focusing on the Prophet’s kindness and civility. A husband who suffers from an inflated male ego will not find an alternative modality of Muslim manhood in the manner in which the Prophet trimmed his nails. We ask God Almighty to direct our minds and our hearts, individually and collectively, to the proper way to follow the guidance sent through His Prophet Muhammad. And we ask Him to protect us from the pettiness of our fragile egos, the treacherous whisperings of our anxiety-ridden souls and the relentless machinations of Satan the accursed. Praise be to God. And may God’s blessings and salutations be upon His servant and His messenger, our beloved Prophet Muhammad, after whom there shall be no prophet, and upon his Companions, his family and his followers all.

End Notes

1. See Ibn Hazm, al-Ihkam fi usul al-Ahkam 8 vols. Ed. A.M. Shakir (Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadidah, 1403/1983, 2: 8. But see his entire discussion at 2: 6-11.
2. Ibn Hazm, al-Ihkam, 2: 7-8.
3. Abu lshaq Ibrahim b. Musa al-Shatibi, al-I’tisam 2 vols. Ed. A. A. al-Shafi (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyah, 1408/ 1988). 1: 28.
4. al-Ihkam. 2: 8.
5. This is also probably the context in which other noted scholars, such as Imam Malik, are reported to have insisted that it was obligatory to follow the actions of the Prophet.
6. On these legal categories. i.e., mandub, mustahabb, mubah, see below, p. 10-11.
7. This too, however, is actually an oversimplification, as all acts that fall outside the forbidden (haram) category are technically permissible.
8. On this point, see also Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, al-Mahsul in Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi’s Nata’is al-usul Ii sharh al-mahsul 4 vols. (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah, 1421/2000), 3: 165, 3: 167,3: 177.
9. See above, on al-Shatibi’s definition of bid’a.

10.  This might sound somewhat contradictory, given the well-known ban on suicide in Islam. But one does not have to “eat” in the literal sense in order to survive. One could just as easily survive by drinking liquids or on nutrients supplied intravenously.

11.  Sayf al-Din al-Amidi, al-Ihkam fi usul al-ahkam 4 vols. (Cairo, Nd), 1: 160, but see his entire discussion from 1: 159-73.

12.  See al-Qarafi’s Nafa’is usul fi ‘ilm al-usul and al-Razi’s al-Mahsul, which is included in Nafa’is.

13.  See, e.g., Nafa’is, 3: 157-84, esp. 181 ff.

14.  AI-Musawwadah fi usul al-fiqh, ed. M. “Abd ai-Hamid (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi. Nd), 186-88.

15.  AI-Musawwadah. 193.

16.  See Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad al-Shawkani, Irshad al-fuhul ila tahqiq al-haqq fi ‘ilm al-usul (Cairo: Mustafa Babi al-Halabi, 1356/1937), 35-38.

17.  See Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad al-Shawkani, Irshad al-fuhul ila tahqiq al-haqq fi ‘ilm al-usul (Cairo: Mustafa Babi al-Halabi, 1356/1937), 35-38.

18.  Irshad, 37.

19.  Irshad, 37.

20.  We must be careful to remember that even in instances where the Prophet’s action alone would not oblige us to commit any action, this same action may serve as a clarifier of some verbal command of his. In this case, it would be obligatory to give this action of the Prophet the same status as the verbal command it clarifies.

21.  See Usul al-sarakhsi, 2 vols. Ed. R. al-‘Ajam (Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifah, 1418/1997), 2: 87-90.

22.  Ihkam, 1: 165.

23.  Irshad, 36.

24.  Nafa’is, 3: 165.

25.  Usul al-sarakhsi, 2: 89.

26.  Irshad, 36. The entire verse reads: “God certainly knows those who slip away in an attempt to escape danger. So let those who go against his affair beware, lest they be visited by a trial or a grievous punishment.”

27.  Nafa’is, 3: 165.

28.  Al-Ihkam, 1: 165-66.

29.  Al-Ihkam, 1: 166.

30.  Irshad, 36.

31.  Irshad, 36-37.

32.  Al-Ihkam, 1: 167.

33.  Nafa’is, 3: 170-71.

34.  Usul al-sarakhsi, 2: 88.

35.  Usul al-sarakhsi, 2: 89.

36.  See, e.g., al-Qarafi, Nafa’is, 3: 171.

37.  al-Shawkani, Irshad, 37.

TwoCircles.net, 5 May 2010

Most present-day ‘revolutionary’ Islamic movements have as their foremost priority the enforcement of the shariah as state law. Based on an extremely simplistic and romanticized vision, these movements believe that the cause for the decline of the Muslims, and, indeed, for all the manifold problems is the fact that Muslim societies and countries are presently not ruled by the shariah. Hence, they regard the imposition of the shariah as state law is the master-key, as it were, to solve all their problems. They take it as something that must at once be implemented by order of the state. They believe that when this happens, the Muslim ummah will once again walk on the path of progress, strength and glory and would, in fact, establish its domination all across the world.

It is undoubtedly true that the shariah exists in order to be implemented. It is also true that Islam is a way of life, and not simply a bundle of rituals to be followed by individuals in their personal lives. Islamic life must, indeed, be regulated by Islamic law and morality. If, for some reason, it is not possible for Muslims to abide by all shariah rules, or if some Muslims themselves choose not to do so, at the very least they ought to believe in them.

It cannot be denied that these very same ‘revolutionary’ Islamist groups are primarily to blame, through their words and deeds, for creating an image of Islam as a tyrannical or oppressive system, rather than as the source of mercy that it is, if it is interpreted properly. A good example in this regard is of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In the name of enforcing the shariah, they sought to impose, using brute force, inflexible medieval fiqh rules on the hapless people of their land, both Muslims and others.. In contrast to what some simple-minded Islamists, swayed by emotionally-driven sloganeering, might think, the enforcement of the shariah in all spheres of society is far from being a simple matter. After all, this effort must deal with the fact of modern society being very complex and highly plural, consisting of people with different mentalities, outlooks and worldviews. For people to accept to be ruled by the shariah requires a long and gradual process of training and nurturing that will need to pass through various stages. Without going through these stages, trying to enforce the shariah would be like trying to produce a chick without an egg.

For any such movement to succeed it is, clearly, not enough that its leaders be motivated by sincerity and firm faith in God. After all, there have always existed such movements consisting of sincere believers, but most of them have not been able to succeed one bit in achieving their goals. The fact remains that efforts to establish the shariah must take cognizance of various factors, particularly various Islamic principles. One of these is the principle of gradualism. It was in reference to this point that Ayesha, the youngest wife of the Prophet, noted that in the beginning of the Prophet’s mission, those verses of the Quran were revealed to him that spoke of heaven and hell. After people repented of their ways and accepted Islam, and their capacity to follow divine commandments was strengthened, verses dealing with rules regarding forbidden (haram) and permissible (halal) things began to be revealed. Ayesha added that if, for instance, the commandment to abstain from alcohol had been revealed in the first stage itself, people would have refused to ever abide by it. Likewise, she said, if in the first stage the Quran had forbidden them from engaging in adultery, they would have insisted that they would never abandon it.

The Quran did not ban the consumption of alcohol in one go. Rather, this commandment was a gradual one, which passed through several stages. This point, and the statement of Ayesha mentioned above, well illustrates the principle of gradualism in seeking to establish the shariah. This principle is also clearly evident from the fact that when the son of the Caliph Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz asked him why he did not openly and directly crush strife and oppression and immediately impose shariah rules in this regard, he replied, ‘Son! Do not be in a hurry because God condemned the consumption of alcohol twice in the Quran and [only] on the third occasion declared it forbidden. I fear that if I try to make people follow the right path fully they might abandon the true path, leading to terrible strife.’

Another important Islamic principle that must be kept in mind when seeking to establish the shariah is that of properly choosing priorities. This is to say, one should be clear as to which issues need to be taken up and worked on first and which later. This principle is well illustrated in the life of the Prophet. Thus, in Mecca he focused only on inviting people to Islam and on spiritually nurturing his disciples. When some of his followers wanted to go to the Ka‘abah to pray, he advised them against it because, he said, the Muslims were still small in number. When he shifted to Medina, the Prophet focused all his energies on peaceful missionary work and on the moral, intellectual and spiritual training of new converts to Islam so that a community of Muslims could be formed qualified to fulfill the personal and collective responsibilities required of them by Islam. In this way, the Prophet exemplified the principle of setting priorities in his effort to establish the shariah.

A third key principle in this regard is to create ease when seeking to engage in some effort. This applies to efforts to establish the shariah as well. In this regard, the Prophet said, ‘Islam [din] is easy, and you [Muslims] have been sent as people who create ease, not those who create harshness and difficulties.’ This is why, for instance, the Prophet brought into the fold of Islam some people who insisted that they would not pay the zakat.

A fourth principle to be followed with regard to social reformation and the establishment of the shariah in society is to tolerate a lesser evil in place of a larger one. This principle was well exemplified by the Prophet, who did not reconstruct the Ka ‘abah on its original lines as laid down by the prophet Abraham, even though he could have done so after he returned to Mecca in victory and had gained full control over the town. When Ayesha asked him why he chose not to reconstruct the Ka‘abah on the pattern established by Abraham, he replied that her people (by which he meant the Meccan Quraish) had only recently become Muslims, and so they might resent it if he did so.

To bring a single wayward individual to the right path needs much time, tolerance, patience, and determination. How much more of all these is needed to reform an entire society or country can only be imagined.. Social change can come about only through the transformation of individuals, not through imposition of laws by the state on people against their will. This is what the Quran teaches us when it says:

‘Allah does not change a people’s lot unless they change what is in their hearts’ (13: 11).

The conditions of today’s Muslims are such that even though they might believe in the shariah laws and in the need for their enforcement in political and collective affairs, their minds are not ready to accept this enforcement in practical terms. They do not want their entire lives to be guided and controlled by the shariah. That is why if an effort is made for this purpose they will be the first to revolt against it. The fate that met the movement launched by Syed Ahmad Barelvi and Shah Ismail is ample testimony to this—it was violently opposed by the very Muslims they sought to rule according to the shariah.

A crucial point that needs to be noted here is that many aspects of the available corpus of fiqh are in urgent need of review in the light of ijtihad. Without reviewing and suitably reformulating these prescriptions, efforts to establish the shariah (which is mistakenly seen by some as synonymous with traditional fiqh) are bound to fail. This, in turn, will give the shariah itself a bad name. To make the issue of establishing the shariah as state law even more complicated is the existence of different, sometimes competing, interpretations of the shariah that are upheld by different Muslim sects and schools of law. This is an issue that is yet to be resolved. Another crucial matter is to convince non-Muslims, not just through our claims but also in practice, that establishing theshariah will indeed lead to justice. The noted classical Islamic scholar Allah Ibn Taimiyah rightly remarked, ‘An infidel government that practices justice can survive, but a Muslim government cannot survive if it practices oppression.’ The pathetic state of various Muslim governments in power throughout the world today can be properly understood in the light of this assertion.

In today’s context, it is imperative that Islamic movements place the matter of the formal enforcement of the shariah at the end of their list of priorities, and, instead, focus on solving the various social ills that are so widespread and deeply-rooted in Muslim communities and countries—issues such as illiteracy, economic exploitation, mounting inequalities, corruption, gender injustice, gross violation of human rights, and so on. Among their foremost priorities should also be raising the awareness and intellectual standards of the people so as to enable them to think about issues rationally instead of being driven simply by emotions and empty sloganeering. In this way they will be able to make a major contribution in addressing and removing widespread misunderstandings about Islam and the Islamic shariah, and will also help pave the way for a meaningful establishment of the shariah in their societies.

Maulana Waris Mazhari is the editor of the New Delhi-based monthly Tarjuman Dar ul-Uloom, the official organ of the Graduates’ Association of the Deoband madrasa. He can be contacted onw.mazhari@gmail.com

Yoginder Sikand works with the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion at the National Law School, Bangalore.

This is abridged version of the article ‘Enforcing the Shariah: Some critical considerations’ by Maulana Waris Mazhari. The complete article can be accessed at:

http://www.twocircles.net/2010may05/enforcing_shariah_some_critical_considerations.html

By: Waheeduddin Ahmed Ph.D.

It all began with these words “— falyablighi al-shahidu al-ghaiba — It is incumbent on those who are present to convey this to those who are absent” (The prophet’s sermon in Hajjatul Wida, the last Hajj, Bukhari: II, 132:795). Then those who were present got up, pulled their cloaks and blankets about them and spread out to distant lands. His message was neither about conquests, nor about Rome and Persia but a social message for the purification of souls and the reformation of mankind. The Quran and the Sunnah, such as the one quoted, illumined their path. Some ended up in the land of Caesar Heraclius, some in Malabar and some in even China. Armies, which were perhaps marching along the same routes did not necessarily have the same motivation, synchronous but not synergetic. The armies were the forces of history and the pioneers of a civilization, they, the emissaries of the Prophet and the forbearers of a universal brotherhood. The Quran had given them clear instructions about their mission: “kuntum khaira ummatin ukhrijat linnasi, tamuroona bilmarufi wa tanhouna anilmunkari wa tuminoona bi-Allah — You are the best of nations sent out to people, (because) you enjoin good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah” (Quran 3:110). They were told not only what to do but how to do it: “Ud’u ila sabeeli Rabbika bi al-hikmati wa al-mouizati al-hasanah — Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching” (Quran 16:125). “Wa man ahsana qaulan min man da’a ila- Allahi, amila salihan wa qala innani min al-muslimeen — And who is better in speech than the one who invited (people) to Allah, did good deeds and declared: ‘Indeed I am from those who have submitted to Allah?” (Quran 41:33). As anyone can see, the sword is not mentioned in any of these instructions from Allah, nor from the Messenger. The sword and the Quran have an obvious disconnect here.

The conquests had their own momentum. They proceeded with a lightning speed and enveloped three continents. Uqba Ibn Nafi, reaching the west shore of Africa plunged his horse into the Atlantic Ocean with glee thinking that he had reached the end of the world, an act, which Iqbal alluded to in his Shikwah:

[Dasht to dasht hain darya bhi na chore hamne. Bahre Zulmat men dauradie ghore ham ne]

(Deserts are but deserts, waters stopped us not. In the Sea of Darkness did our horses trot.)

However, conversions lagged centuries behind because their dynamics were far too different. Let us consider some statistics as illustration: The battle of Yarmuk took place in 637 A.D. opening up Syria for Muslims but the country had a Christian majority until the Mongol invasion (1244-1323A.D.). Likewise, the battle of al-Qadisiya, which took place in the same year, laid the vast territories of the Sasanian empire open to Muslims. No mass conversions immediately followed. In fact, the Muslim population in Iran reached only 40% in the mid-Ninth century and not until the end of the Eleventh century did it reach about 80%. In Egypt, it took Muslims four centuries to attain a majority. In the Malay Archipelago, Arab traders had started settling from the time of Khalifa Othman (646-656 A.D.) en route to China, as evidenced by the tombstones that have been excavated. However, when Marco Polo visited the region in 1292 A.D., he found only one Muslim kingdom out of many non-Muslim ones. Ibn Battuta’s visit a few years later has also confirmed this. In fact there was a gradual process of social intercourse in which Islam supplanted Hinduism and Buddhism, becoming a dominant religion by the end of Eighteenth century. It still left the island of Bali predominantly Hindu. Thus Malaysia and Indonesia are the shining examples of non-coercion in the propagation of Islam as a religion. In India, Muslim rule spanned twelve centuries and yet by the end of that period, the Muslim population stood at only 25%.

The process of conversion is complex and is not amenable to rational analysis using simple historiography as a tool. It needs the genius of Ibn Khaldun, rather than the narrative skill of Al-Tabari to unravel history in its true colors hidden under the debris of wars and conflicts. Among the various factors involved in conversion, we may consider: theology, ritual practices, ethics, law, economic incentives, societal mores, intellectual prowess and occasionally political pressure too. If theological discourse was the only factor, Islam could have easily prevailed over the Trinitarian concepts of the Christians, the Dualism of the Zoroastrians, the Atheism of the Buddhists and the Polytheism of the Hindus but intellectual debates and documents rarely engage a lay person’s mind. It is the totality of the religious practices, the faith and the morality manifest in actions, which attract people’s attention. History records some very odd reasons too. When the Portuguese conquered Goa, it was not the promise of salvation, which made Christianity triumph but the spectacle of pomp and glamour, the colorful costumes of the priests, their liturgy and the whiteness of their skin, which caught people’s fascination and made them submit to the Lord Savior.

In the Byzantine Empire, dogmatic conflicts within Christianity, persecution of sects, which were out of favor with the Popes or the emperors were largely responsible for opening up the countries for Muslims. The populations accorded the invaders, in most cases, a warm welcome, who in turn demonstrated good governance, religious tolerance, justice and fair play to win the people’s approval.

In India, low caste Hindus saw their chance of emancipation in converting to Islam. On the other hand, the high caste Hindus found that they could lose their social privileges in the egalitarian community of Muslims if they converted; so they largely abstained. However, some of them like the Kaests and the Khatris adopted the Islamic culture, while steadfastly adhering to the Hindu Dharma. Raja Todar Mal of Akbar’s court and Maharaja Kishen Pershad, a wazir of the Nizam are examples. The first president of independent India Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s primary education had taken place in a madrasa, where, he had learned Persian among other things.

In the final analysis, it was not the scholar but the saint, who was instrumental in inculcating the faith. It was not the articulation of dogmas but the luminescence of virtue, which brought light into the lives of the people. In other words, it was not the rhetoric but action which met with success. Those who shared the burden of survival, the daily pains of living and the routine trials and tribulations with their neighbors were the ones, who by demonstrating the strength of their character as Muslims exerted influence on others.  Khaja Moinuddin Chishti is reported to have urged upon his disciples “to develop river-like generosity, sun-like affection and earth-like hospitality”. “The highest form of devotion”, he said “is to redress the misery of those who are in distress — to fulfill the needs of the helpless and to feed the hungry.” This is a formula, which worked in the past and will work in the present circumstance.

In America, black people were attracted to Islam, basically for two reasons: to find a group identity, based on pride, which would help them fight against oppression and secondly to extricate themselves from what they saw as Christian hypocrisy in “love thy neighbor” (as long as he is of the same race). On the other hand, they saw in Islam a strong message of universal brotherhood and a chance to draw solidarity and moral prowess from it, which could energize them in their fight against injustice. How far the Muslims of America, the immigrants in particular, have been able to live up to this expectation is the burning question of the day!

To sum up, we can say that Islam spread, because it had to. The river flows down the slope and in doing so, creates its own contours and landscapes. We can also describe the process in Huntington’s words as “clash of civilizations”. The Islamic civilization in its heyday collided with various other civilizations, overpowering, sometimes overwhelming the weaker of them but finding stubborn resistance from those with strong intellectual and cultural traditions. However, the conversion of Persia seems to be an anomaly. This very fertile and vitriolic civilization transformed itself by first dissipating and then coalescing within Islam to impact it in all its intellectual avenues and cultural manifestations as no other civilization has done.

Today, the Islamic civilization is at its lowest point in history, while progress is erupting all around the Muslim world with unprecedented vehemence. Muslims now stand in the wilderness, distraught and destitute, leaderless, oppressed from within and pressured from without. They are lashing out in frustration, throwing bombs in every direction and upon themselves. In Western Europe and North America where Islam was making great inroads only a decade ago, Muslims have been put on the defensive. Islam and terrorism is an exercise in word association, an addendum for psychologists.

We cannot counter these defamatory tactics unless we correctly read the enemy’s mind and then choose the right strategy. The root of the conflicts is in the occupation of lands and subjugation and exploitation of people by the western neo-imperialist powers, using as they always do, the rulers of those lands as their agents. It is not too difficult to see that any people under these circumstances, Muslims or non-Muslims, Jews or Gentiles would rise up in revolt. Hit by armies, navies and air forces they would hit back with whatever weapons they could lay their hands on. The conflicts always have a geographical context and a specificity of human groupings. Unfortunately, in the times that we are living; almost all the people at the receiving end of oppression happen to be Muslims. They are the ones who are fighting back. The enemy has found it enormously useful and profitable to put a label on them: “Islamic militants” to prejudice the minds of those who might otherwise support a just cause. The “militants” failed to see how cleverly they were being manipulated and willingly became stereotypes. The Islamic leadership, from the scholars to the politicians failed to counter the move and went along with it. Voices raised in protest were feeble and drowned in the drumbeat of “jihad”. We had no answer to the cunning; such a pity that Muslims do not have a Machiavelli or a Chankia of their own.

I suggest that in order to regain the initiative in the Islamic movement, particularly in the area of dissemination, we must do two things: First, disengage Islam from the so-called “jihad”— Remember jihad was also used by the C.I.A. as a weapon in Afghanistan. The conflicts involving Muslims and the West are in the nature of “just wars”. Let us bring them back in that category, where they belong. People who are fighting these wars have a duty to their cause. Their weapons are their options. Others may support or oppose them, depending upon their political orientations. They may condone or condemn the choice of weapons according to their conscience but let the Islamists most emphatically disengage from this conflict and pay attention to the articulation and propagation of Islam. Let us change the posters at the storefront!

Secondly, in the perspective of the post-nine-eleven America and the negative unmitigated propaganda unleashed against Islam, the efficacy of articulation has greatly diminished. People must now see Islam in action, not hear or read about it. Great effort and resources need to be put in the humanitarian side of Islam, as Khaja Moinuddin Chishti has urged upon Muslims to do. He succeeded against tremendous odds and Insha-Allah we will too.

There is another very serious problem we are seeing today. In America, when Islam was first introduced, it was a pristine religion, pure and simple like in the days of the Sahaba. It did not have time to undergo centuries of pollution, schisms and diversions as in the Old World. Immigrants from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent are now working to drag the New Muslims into their courtyard, where everyone is either: Sufi, Salafi, Devbandi or Barelwi and where people are vociferously slandering each other and where Muslims without labels are unwanted guests. The New Muslims caught in this melee are nowhere to turn. The clannishness of the Arabs and the class consciousness of the Indo-Pakistanis are posing another problem. The images of Sunnis and the Shias blowing each other up in Iraq and Pakistan are ubiquitous and cannot be hidden from those who are invited to the party. They are at the back of their minds when they are gazing at our Da’is giving them lectures. If Muslims cannot rise to this emergency, they will be doomed to eternal ignominy.