Moulood Al-Nabi

(This khutbah was delivered in May 2002 at Royal Holloway University of London)

“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.

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.

May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida.

Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him.

Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”

And, 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.

My respected Brothers and Sisters in Islam,

The 12th Rabi-al-Awwal was the birthday of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sws. Across the entire Muslim world, there were celebrations of what we call Moulood al Nabi. This is a good time for us to pause, and to reflect, on the life and Mission of this greatest of all men, who is described in The Holy Qur’án as, “Khaataman Nabii-een,” “The seal of the Prophets.”

What are the essential points about his life, that has meaning for us today, not only for Muslims, but for all mankind? We naturally feel a tremendous love, reverence and gratitude to our Holy Prophet Muhammad, sws. After all, it is he who brought us Islám, in its final and complete form. It is he who suffered humiliation and abuse from his own people, who endured exile and violence for the sake of his mission. It is he who established the foundations of this Ummah, this great Brotherhood of Muslims, of which we are privileged to belong. We can be excused for regarding him with so much love and affection, that, others might say we lack objectivity in our views. OK, that’s fine. If a Muslim says that Muhammad was the greatest man who ever lived, outsiders will probably not pay much attention. But, if the same words of admiration came from their own writers and thinkers, people do sit up and take notice.

One English writer who admired him greatly was Thomas Carlyle, who wrote (On Heroes and Hero Worship, and the Heroic in History, London, 1918).

“… These Arabs, the man Muhammad, and that one century. It is as if a spark had fallen, one spark on a world of what seemed black unnoticeable sand, but lo, the sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven high from Delhi to Grenada: I said: the Great Man was always as lightning out of heaven; the rest of the men waited on him like fuel, and then they too would flame … How one man single-handedly could weld warring tribes and wandering boudouins into a most powerful and civilised nation in less then twenty years….”.

Another writer, Michael Hart, in his book, “The 100 greatest men in history,” placed Nabii Muhammad at the top of his list of men who had the biggest impact on human history.

We Muslims of course, have no need for anyone else to endorse the greatness of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sws. We know that he is the greatest of all men. For us, it is enough that Alláh describes his status in The Holy Qur’án:

“Wa maa arsal naaka illaa Rahmatal lil-‘aalameen!”

“and We have not sent you [O Muhammad], but as a Mercy to all the Worlds.”

Note that the term ‘alameen” in Arabic, refers not only to all nations, or to all of mankind, but to all the worlds, i.e. including the world of matter and of the spirit. In the same way, the first line of Súra Al-Faatiha says: “Al-hamdu lillaahi Rabbil ‘aalameen,” “All praise is due to Alláh, Lord of all the worlds,” so The Holy Qur’án refers to our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sws as a Mercy to all the worlds. We who claim to be his followers, and who remember him in every prayer, should study his life and follow his example. For truly, in the Messenger of Alláh is the finest of examples.

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

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.

Ammaa ba’ad:

Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema.

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.

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.”

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

Second Khutbah

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

Dear brothers and sisters,

These are very difficult days for Muslims everywhere. We are presently weak and divided, and it seems the Ummah is being torn apart from within our ranks and from outside. But we must never despair, never lose hope. And we must not lose heart. Allah takes good care of His creation. He will take good care of His religion. History is on our side. Truth will prevail over falsehood. It will be a long and painful struggle, with many false dawns, but we should be in no doubt that the Religion of Alláh will triumph in the end.

Islám ennobled every human community that came under its influence. Even Ghengiz Khan, the most fearsome ‘international terrorist’ of his time, could not destroy Islam. He brought his Mongol horsemen sweeping out of the Steppes of Central Asia. His warriors destroyed everything else in their path, but they could not resist the appeal of “Laa ilaaha ill-lall-laah; Muhammadar-Rasoolull-laah.” “There is no god except Alláh, Muhammad is the Messenger of Alláh.” The Mongols raped and plundered their way southward and westward until they were stopped at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260. Here  the brave warriors led by Beybars under the  Mameluk Sultan, Kotoz “Noor el dein Mahmoud” turned the tide. This great victory allowed the entire world to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Despite themselves, and despite having destroyed a huge swathe of the Muslim world, including Baghdad, the Mongols in time accepted Islam as their religion. Their descendants became the Mogul emperors who ruled India for many centuries.

Today, ironically, while many Muslim individuals and nations are looking towards the West for their role-models, there are growing numbers of Europeans and North Americans who are turning the other way, turning to Islám in order to find some meaning and purpose to their lives. In a recent newspaper article, a Jewish historian wrote about her reflections about the growth of Islám in the West. She said that while travelling on a train in Brussels, she found herself with a large group of schoolgirls wearing hijab. “The girls smiled at me, and I smiled back,” she wrote, “and I could not help thinking, here is the future of Europe, and I am the past.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Islám is winning the hearts and minds of a many thinking people in the West. Alláh assures the ultimate victory of Islám, and we have no doubts about that. The real question is, what role are we going to play in helping that process along? Will Islám win with our help and effort, or will Islám win, in spite of us? That is what really matters. Are we going to concern ourselves only with our own narrow, selfish lives? – Are we only bothered about our career, our family and our leisure time? Are we not going to seek the good pleasure of Alláh, by serving Islám wholeheartedly, by serving all Allah’s creatures, unselfishly and with enthusiasm?

History shows that the struggle to establish Islám in every age and every land, was often carried forward by small numbers of Muslims, who had cultivated some quite exceptional qualities. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sws, and his illustrious Companions, were the most remarkable human beings that ever walked on this planet. Their qualities of faith in Alláh, obedience to His prophet, patience and honesty enabled them to build a world civilization.

Those were Believers who committed themselves and their possessions totally to Islám. For them, there were no half-measures. They did not make any plans without taking into account what pleases Alláh. It was more important for them to know how their plans should fit into the Master Plan of the Master Planner. These remarkable Muslims, the Companions of the Prophet, and all those who followed their noble example, worked hard, and reposed all their trust in Alláh. They feared nothing and no-one except Allah. They are the ones described in these beautiful last 2 verses of Súra Taubah:

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem!

128. Laqad jaaa-akum Rasuulum min ‘an-fusikum ‘azizun ‘alayhi maa’anit-tum harisun ‘alaykum bil-Mu’mineena ra’uufur-Raheem.

129. Fa-in tawal-low faqul has-biyal-laahu Laa-ilaaha il-laahu ‘alayhi tawakkal tu wa-huwa Rabbul ‘alrshil Adtheem!

128. Now has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should suffer. Ardently anxious is he over you. To the Believers he is most kind and merciful.

129. But if they turn away, say: “Alláh suffices me; there is no god but He, on Him is my trust; He is the Lord of the Magnificent Throne.”

These comforting and inspiring verses have helped Muslims in hardship and distress throughout the ages. They should also comfort and inspire us today.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islám, let us remember our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sws, by trying to be like him, and his illustrious Companions, the Sahaaba. Let us cultivate those noble qualities of ‘Imán and Taqwa’, honesty, reliability and integrity of character.  Let our lives be like beacons of light in the spiritual darkness of our present times. Prophet Muhammad sws is described in Sura 45:v16 as “siraj munir,” a lamp spreading light. By following him, we too can reflect light, however dimly, for those who are in utter darkness.

Let us become the True Believers who will end their lives responding to those evocative final verses of Súra Al-Fajr, where Alláh invites our souls in these words:

“fad-ghuleefee ‘ibaadee, wad-ghulee jan-natee.”

“enter you, my devotees, enter you my Heaven.”

Let us pray to Alláh, to help us earn His good pleasure, his ridwaan, to enter His Garden. Let us become worthy inheritors of this great Ummah whose foundations were laid by our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sws. That would be the best way to celebrate Moulood-an-Nabii.

Let us also make a special prayer for those who are busy with exams at this time. Whether it be GCSE’s, A-levels, or university examinations. It can be a stressful time for them and for their families. May Alláh in His infinite mercy and wisdom, help those who are writing exams, to achieve excellent results. May Alláh guide us all and help us all win His good pleasure.

Ameen! Aqeemus salaah!

* This khutbah (friday sermon) was originally delivered at Royal Holloway College, Univ. of London, UK on 31st May 2002