Be like Muhammad! sws

Khutbah: Be like Muhammad!

Nuradeen Ahmed

Jurgens Centre, Englefield Green, Surrey, UK. 1 December 2017

The TEXT VERSION of this khutbah is below.

To hear the audio version, please CLICK HERE:   Be Like Muhammad

(For the video version, please CLICK HERE)

Read the text version below:

 “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, peace and blessings on him, 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, an awe-inspired 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 respected Brothers and Sisters,

In a few weeks’ time, Christians around the world will be celebrating Christmas. This is the day they believe Jesus, Nabi Isa, alahis salaam, was born.

Today we Muslims remember another birthday. This is the day when Allah’s last Prophet and Messenger was born, on the 12th (some say 17th ) Rabi al awwal.

Respected brothers and sisters, How should we commemorate our beloved Prophet Muhammad’s birthday? Perhaps we could start by reflecting on who he was and what he achieved. Here was a man, with no literate skills and no formal education, who single-handedly transformed a band of crude Bedouin tribesmen into the leaders of a world civilisation. More importantly, he restored belief in One God, after centuries of deviation and innovation. He established a spiritual empire that is still healthy, despite all the hostility thrown at it from all sides. Islam is the world’s fastest growing faith. Today it embraces the hearts of one fifth of the human family.

The many dimensions of Muhammad’s life is a vast topic.  Several khutbahs will not be enough to cover it all. Today, we will focus on a few essential points.

Prophet Muhammad’s eventful life had 2 main parts: the first 40 years and the last 23 years. The first part was his life was before that fateful meeting with Gabriel, Archangel Jibreel, who called him to deliver God’s message. The last part covered the revelation of the Holy Quran over 23 year,s until he died.

Even as a young man, Muhammad sws was  known as ‘Al Ameen,’ the Trustworthy, because of his exceptional good character. Long before his turbulent years as Allah’s last Prophet, khaataman Nabiy-yeen, ‘The Seal of the Prophets’ his honesty and personal integrity was so well established that his employer, the Lady Khadeejah, offered her hand in marriage.

So, even if we forget everything else about his youth, we must remember just two things: His Good Character and his merciful and generous heart. Good Character, a merciful and generous heart. Later on in the Hadith literature we find one of his best known quotations:

“I have been sent only to teach good character.”

The Holy Quran confirms this in Sura Al-Ahzaab, we read in verse 21:

“Laqad’ kaana lakum fee Rasoolil-laahi uswatun hasanah…”

You have, indeed, in the Messenger of Allah, a beautiful pattern of conduct..”

and again in Sura Al Anbiya/The Prophets 21:107 we read:

“Wamaa arsal naaka ilLaa Rahmatal lil Aalameen”

“And we have not sent you, [O Muhammad] but as a Mercy for all creatures.”

Brothers and sisters, these two elements, good character and mercy to all creatures, these are the basic elements of Prophet Muhammad’s sws personality. If you compared all the biographies that were ever written about anyone, Muhammad’s life is probably the most minutely observed, keenly studied and passionately emulated role model in history. Let’s take some examples of his character:

A woman used to leave rubbish on the Prophet’s doorstep every morning. One morning there was no rubbish, so the Prophet sws went to her house to investigate. She was not well, and the Prophet comforted her and made duah for her recovery.

On another occasion, a man entered the mosque and urinated there. The Companions were very angry and grabbed hold of him, but the Prophet stopped them and told them just to pour clean water over the area and to let him go gently, explaining that a place of worship must be kept clean.. Because of the Prophets patience and forbearance, these people later accepted Islam.

And who can forget Taif? The whole town of Taif drove Prophet Muhammad away with stones, insults and abuse. He was injured and the blood flowed. Angel Gabriel, Jibreel, offered to punish them by destroying the whole town. But our beloved Prophet Muhammad sws said, “No, I am not the prophet of Revenge, I am the prophet of Mercy. Leave them alone. Maybe their children will one day accept Islam.” And he was right. The people of Taif are today all Muslims.

These examples from the Muhammad’s own life show us how we should deal with insults and abuse. We should not retaliate in kind. We should “repel evil with something better,” as the Quran advises. We who follow Prophet Muhammad sws must offer something nobler, and more inspiring than violence and revenge.

The second part of Prophet Muhammad’s life cover his 23 years as God’s final Messenger. During these years the Holy Quran was revealed, and recorded, as a written text, and as a recitation, on the lips of Muslims who commit these sacred words to memory. In addition to the written and recited words of Allah, during his lifetime Prophet Muhammad was himself, a living testimony of the Qurán translated into action. He was the Quran made visible in human form. We Muslims therefore have a threefold blessing from Allah. We can read the Quran ourselves, we can hear it recited by others, and we can experience the Quran as a living reality by studying the life of Prophet Muhammad and applying his examples to our own lives today.

Towards the end of his life, Prophet Muhammad made the pilgrimage and on the plain of Arafat, on the Mount of Mercy, Jabal Rahma, he delivered his final khutbah. Here he reminded the Muslims that his life was coming to an end, but if they held on to 2 things they would never go astray: one is the Book of Allah, the Holy Quran, and the other is the Sunnah, the living example of His Prophet. To this day, 1,400 years later, the essence of Islam has been preserved in those 2 sources, and they will remain so utterly central to our Muslim identity and experience until the end of time. Insha-Allah. Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen.

All praise is due to Alláh, 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, Alláh 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 Alláh! Send your greetings upon Muhammad and his family, just as you sent your greetings on Abraham, and his family. O Alláh, 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:

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, 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,

What is the best birthday present that we can give our beloved Prophet Muhammad? You know, every time we pray in Salaah, we invoke Allah’s greetings of peace and blessings on him, as we’ve just done.

This is what we do every day, at least 5 times each day. So, what else can we do, to make this Mawlid very special as a Birthday present?

Perhaps the best birthday present we can give Prophet Muhammad today is to follow his good example and be like him. We can and we must strive hard to bring something of his noble character, something of his merciful and generous nature into these difficult times.

Prophet Muhammad sws was not just a man of theory. He was a man of action. All the wisdom that we find in the Holy Quran and Hadith is only of value in theory until we learn it, love it and live it.  We Muslims must make it work, as our Prophet did. Islam must become a living reality in our lives, in our personal behaviour, in our personal conduct, in our families and neighbourhoods. Islam  was never meant to be an academic curiosity, fit only for the dusty bookshelves in libraries and museums.

The Holy Qurán describes us, the followers of Muhammad as the “best community sent forth for mankind. You enjoin what is right and you forbid what is wrong, and you believe in Alláh.”

“Kuntum khaira ummatin ukh-rijat lin-naasi ta’ muroona bil ma’roof, watan hauna ‘anil munkari watu’ minoona billaah”.

You and I must therefore go out into our neighbourhoods and communities, to help put right things that are wrong. We must work to make our neighbourhoods safer for everyone. We must help to fight crime, delinquency, alcohol abuse and drug abuse. We must raise money to provide clean water and medicines to millions who are dying needlessly abroad. We must help to raise awareness amongst our neighbours and fellow citizens of this beautiful country, that it’s not enough for us to live the good life, while others have to suffer the consequences elsewhere. We must engage ourselves more in improving the environment for everyone. We must invest our funds ethically, avoiding businesses that profit from human suffering, gambling and alcohol. We must weigh up the global consequences of our actions. And most importantly, we must urge our elected leaders to uphold justice and the rule of law, at home and abroad.

We have our work set out before us, locally and globally. The message of Islam through the living example of Prophet Muhammad offers a way out of this darkness for everyone. You and I have the responsibility and the honour of taking that message to those who need it. We can preach and teach, but the best way to honour our beloved prophet sws will be to set our own personal example of his good character and his generous heart.

May Alláh, the Glorified and Exalted, help us to fulfil this noble cause. May Allah help us to study his Holy Book and the life of His final Prophet sws, so that our lives can become illuminated by that divine light that leads to His Garden, al-Jannatul Firdaws.

“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.

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…

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

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

Ameen. Aqeemus salaah!