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Khutbah: Helping Orphans

By Arshad Gamiet

Royal Holloway University of London 4^th September 2015

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

I turn away from Shaytaan, the Cursed One. I begin, in the Name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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 Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I’m sure many of you would have seen the picture on yesterday’s front pages. Newspapers around the world have shown the same picture, of a 3 year old boy whose dead body was washed up on a beach in Turkey. We’re getting so used to being shocked and horrified by images in the media, but this picture was something else. This picture tells us so much about what’s wrong with the world, and more importantly, it tells us what’s wrong with ourselves.

This picture sums up the human story, the human tragedy behind the headlines. Millions of lives have been affected by today’s man-made disasters, From the Rohinya people in Burma to Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Eritrea and Syria, innocent people have been murdered, bombed, burnt out of their homes and driven from their neighbourhoods in someone’s mad rush for power. The image of this little boy’s body on the beach sums up our human failure to live and let others also live. It sums up our collective failure to treat other people as our equals, as fellow human beings with dignity and respect. It sums up our failure to show compassion to the most desperate people on earth. Allah will certainly hold everyone of us to account.

My dear sisters and brothers, we only have a few minutes for Friday khutbahs. We don’t have time for details, and it’s beyond our scope to point fingers of blame, and to consider whys and wherefores. Things aren’t that simple. The reasons are complex. This isn’t just about wars of wealthy nations for the resources of poor nations. It’s also about our Muslim leaders’ corruption, greed and incompetence. In so many countries, Muslim rulers are oppressing fellow Muslims. But it’s not only at the high levels of government. In so many communities and in so many homes, we Muslims are unjust towards our husbands and wives, our parents and our children. We often complain about others out there, but many of us are no different. Many of our problems are home made. The Holy Quran has a stern warning for us in Sura Al Ra’d 13:11:  “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” (repeat).

Dear sisters and brothers, the mess that we see out there is only a visible expression of the mess inside our own lives and inside our own hearts. If we Muslims were anything like our noble Prophets and their companions, the Muslim world would not be in such a wretched state today. We need to cleanse and purify ourselves inwardly first, in our hearts, our desires, our longings and our attachment to this worldly life. Only when we allow ourselves to be guided by the Nur, the Light of Allah, and not by our own selfish egos, only then will things get better for us.

The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) reports that there are now over 50 million refugees worldwide. Half of them are children, and the main victims in this real life drama are always the orphans. When their parents are either killed or maimed or in prison, the poor orphans are left without financial and emotional support to sustain them.

What does our Holy Quran and our Prophetic Sunnah teach us about orphans? There are numerous references in the Quran and the Hadith. We have time only for a few. One of my favourite verses is Ayatul Birr, the verse in Sura Al Baqara (verse 177) that describes the truly righteous, virtuous person:

“Laysal birra an tuwalloo wujoohakum qiblal mashriqi wal maghrib…”

“It is not righteous (or virtuous) that you simply turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteous/virtuous to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your wealth, out of love for Him, for your family, for orphans,(repeat: “for the orphans”) for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the freedom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and to practice regular charity, to fulfil the promises, (the contracts) which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. These are the people of truth, the muttaqeen, those who are cautiously aware of Allah.”

If we want Allah’s blessings and if we want to draw nearer to Allah, if we want Allah to love us, then we must do what pleases Allah. We must help orphans. We must personally take care of them, or at least pay something towards their care.

As we all know, Prophet Muhammad sws was himself an orphan, whose father died before he was born and whose mother died when he was still very young. …

Surely Allah’s wisdom decreed that our beloved Prophet should be an orphan, so that his example would be a source of comfort and inspiration to millions of orphans throughout history. Every orphan should know that our beloved Prophet was just like them, feeling their pain, feeling their loneliness and vulnerability.

The Hadith literature tells us of the high status given to those who care for the orphan. Al-Bukhari narrated that Prophet Muhammad, said:

“I and the custodian of an orphan are like this (together) in Paradise“, and he joined his forefinger and middle finger together.

Ibn Majah also narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that Prophet Muhammad said:

“The best Muslim house is a house in which an orphan is well treated; and the worst Muslim house is a house in which an orphan is badly treated.”

The above Prophetic Hadiths show clearly that if someone takes good care of an orphan, he is sure to enter Paradise.

In another authentic Hadith: Abu Huraira narrated that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

“He who looks after a widow and a needy person is like a fighter for the Cause of Allah.”[mujahid fee sabeelil-Laah]  He also said: 

“Like someone who stands up the night in prayer for worship and someone who is always fasting.” (Bukhari)

Dear Sisters and Brothers, caring for orphans and helping others to care for them is a guaranteed way to win Allah’s good pleasure and enter into Paradise. We are facing one of the greatest mass movements of refugees in 70 years since the Second World War. Most of these refugees are Muslims and many are children. It’s time we opened up our hearts, and our homes, to take responsibility for some of them. They desperately need help. Many non-Muslims have already responded with compassion and generosity. We should be amongst the foremost to do so. Food and medicines as well as blankets, tents and winter clothing is being collected in many areas. Some people are freeing up spare rooms to offer to refugees.

Let’s all do what we can. Let’s check what’ s being done in our local areas and let’s give this very noble cause the full-hearted support it deserves.

“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, 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,

My own mother was only 33 years old when my father died. He was a human rights lawyer who defended victims of injustice in South Africa, and he died after an exhausting legal battle in the courts. We were rendered fatherless, homeless and penniless in less than a week. My mother was left alone with her with six young children, aged from 3 years to 14 years. She was still a beautiful woman and had many offers of marriage, but she refused them all. She said, “No man will love my children like their father did.” Then she assured us: “Allah will help me take care of you all.” She raised us, single-handedly, sending us through school, and she let two of us attend university without the help of a welfare state. This was in South Africa during the dark days of racial Apartheid. She died last year, aged 89, and I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever, that Allah has welcomed her into His Garden, for the loving sacrifices she made for me and my brothers and sisters. Maybe some of you have similar stories to tell, of loving mothers who struggled alone, against all the odds.

Our noble Prophet praised the widows whose husbands die and who refuse to remarry, so that they can raise their children without risking bad treatment from a stepfather.  Allah alone knows the hardship such widows must endure.

Imagine, my dear sisters and brothers, how precious the orphan is in Allah’s eyes. Allah guarantees paradise to the ones who care for the orphans. Allah guarantees paradise to the widow who refuses to remarry, fearing that her next husband may not be good for her children.

Such women were praised by Prophet Muhammad sws. Aouf Bin Malik Al-Ashjaii narrated that Prophet Muhammad said:

“I and a woman with dark brown cheeks will be like these (i.e. together) on the  Day of Judgement (and he joined his forefinger and middle finger together): this is a widow, although beautiful and noble, who devoted herself to her orphans after her husband’s death, until they became strong enough or died.”

The scholars of Hadith tell us that “a woman with dark brown cheeks” means a widow who refused to re-marry, and she became pale with hard work and sorrow, and her cheeks became dark brown.

These Hadith clearly tell us how much Allah loves those who care for the orphans. They raise their children with love. They trust in Allah [tawakkul] and cultivate healthy iman (faith) in their children’s hearts.

Dear sisters and brothers, You and I could be like this [show index/middle fingers together], side by side with our beloved Prophet Muhammad sws, in Al Jannah Firdaws, if we take care of the orphans, near and far.

On the other hand, those who neglect orphans or who treat them harshly, can risk incurring Allah’s displeasure. We read in Sura Al-Maa’uun;

“Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem!

“Ara aytal lathee yukathibu bid deen? Fa thaalikal lathee ya du’ul yateem…”

“Have you seen the one who denies the Judgment day? That is the one who drives away the orphan.”

My dear sisters and brothers, let us not, by our carelessness and lack of compassion, fall into this category. Never neglect the suffering of orphans. Thousands, no, millions of orphans are waiting out there, to be loved, to be cared for, to be fed, clothed and educated. They could be your own children! They could be your or my grandchildren! But for the grace and mercy of Allah,  that could happen to anyone! We have no guarantees that we will always have comfort, security and wealth! We cannot and we should not be indifferent to the plight of orphans anywhere in the world. Let’s do what we can to help!

After the prayers today, we have a collection for Iraqi Orphans that our community has been sponsoring for the past few years, through the charity Human Relief Foundation. Please, my dear sisters and brothers, let us give generously to this worthy cause. Let us send a loud and clear message to orphans everywhere, that they are not alone. Let them know that we do care. We ask Allah to bless our efforts and to infuse it with His barakah,  so that the benefits of our work can be magnified many times over. Say, 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), Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon [2:152]. wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu ya’lamu maa tasna’oon.” [29:45].

“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.” “and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.” “and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”        

Ameen.    Aqeemus salaah