Khutbah - Muharram

Friday Khutbah (27/2/2004) delivered by Shaykh Muhammad Taher

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds, Master of the righteous, Whose enmity is only against the oppressors. And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Imam of the pious, and those who follow him….

Oh Muslims,

The Islamic Ummah has bid farewell to another year and welcomed a new one, and likewise the days pass and have passed. The haste of this life continues but has it occurred to you, oh Muslims, to say: “Where is this haste of life leading me? What will there be after the last round, at the end the road? What should I gather from this life, which we live and reside in, in which we strive and work, slave and toil, seeking livelihood and provision, recreation and pleasure, through the blessings of Allah?

Have you ever said to yourself on any day, did not Allah not say to us in his book?

“Blessed is He in Whose hands is the Dominion, and He has power over all things. He Who created Death and Life, so that He may try which of you is best in deed?” (al-Mulk 67:1-2)

And did He not say:

“To any that desires the harvest of the Hereafter, We give increase in his harvest; and to any that desires the harvest of this world, We grant it to him, but he has no share in the Hereafter.” (as-Shura 42:20)

Therefore, may my soul awaken from its slumber! This life is nothing other than a place of preparing for the Hereafter. This life is nothing other than a passageway to the Hereafter. This life is nothing other than a place of action and work for the reward of the Hereafter. This life is a place of longing and aspiration for meeting the promise, and witnessing what is promised, in the Hereafter.

So oh you who seeks the harvest of this life, and oh you who seeks the harvest of the Hereafter!

Your provision in this life is plentiful, and guaranteed, and Allah is the One who guarantees that. For Allah has said, before that last verse: “ Allah is gracious to His servants. He provides for whom He wills, and He is the Strong, the Mighty.” (42:19) Allah is kind to these people, and those people, and for each on of them is a share in this life. And no one will obtain more than what has been decreed for him in this life. Then there remains the harvest of the Hereafter, pure and true for whomsoever desires it and does righteous deeds for its sake.

Therefore, for the rich man and the poor, in the harvest of this life each one has his share. But in the harvest of the Hereafter it is not the same. In the Hereafter, those who have done righteous deeds come forward, and the people of sound and pure hearts. “On that day when money and children will benefit no-one, except whoever comes to Allah with a sound heart”. The righteous believers will rejoice in the Hereafter, after the hardship of this life, and the struggle against the self, the passions and desires, and against Shaitan, in order for there not to be disobedience to Allah, in committing vile deeds, consuming interest, and the consuming of people’s wealth in vain. On the other hand there are many people who become weary in the Hereafter. Many become weary, seeking pleasure and comfort for themselves, and leaving the commands of Allah. You will see them finding the prayer burdensome, seeing it as hard, exhausting work. Many wear out their bodies in order to obtain the benefits of this life, and regarding the afterlife they are heedless.

So come, let us hear what the Quran has to say about these wasteful people. And come, let us hear what the Quran has to say about those who are blessed in the Gardens of their Lord. After that, ask yourself. Are these people equal to these people? Is the one who seek the harvest of this life equal to the one who seeks the harvest of the next?

Allah says, after mentioning a group of prophets and righteous people and their offspring who followed them in excellence:

“But after them there followed a posterity who missed prayers and followed their lusts. Soon then, will they face destruction. Except those who repent and believe, and work Righteousness: for these Will enter the garden and will not be wronged in the least. Gardens of Eternity, those which Allah Most Gracious has promised to His servants in the Unseen: for His promise must come to pass. They will not hear any vain discourse, but only salutations of peace. Any they will have therein their sustenance, morning and evening. Such is the Garden which we give as an inheritance to those of our servants who guard against evil.” (19:59-63)

This is the price of Paradise, oh you who seek the Hereafter! This is the price of Paradise oh you who follow the Muhammad, peace be upon him. Allah gives paradise to those who have taqwa of Allah in this life.

As long as you are able to perform action do so, before you are unable to. Seize the opportunity of this life, before death approaches you.

“When their term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay, nor an hour can they advance in its anticipation.” (7:34)

A year has passed, and a year has come, so let each one of us ask himself today: What have I prepared for tomorrow? What did I do yesterday? Am I prepared for what is coming? Oh servants of Allah, have taqwa in your lives, in the times you spend, and in your actions.

“And fear the Day when you shall be brought back to Allah, then every soul shall be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly. (2:281)

Also, take a warning, a lesson, from the earthquakes that are happening here and there, in places like Iran, Algeria, Morocco, and know that they are nothing other than reminders and awakeners for the believers to prepare themselves for the earthquake that cannot be measured by the Richter scale. The day when the earthquake will last for hours, not seconds or minutes, when the earth is pounded to powder, when the earth is shaken to the utmost convulsion. When the great event occurs, and you will see the earth bringing low many, and exalting many, and when every nursing mother shall abandon her suckling baby. These earthquakes that you see today are nothing other than awakenings for the heedless, the sinners and the disobedient, to return and repent to the Lord of the Worlds. And we ask Allah to forgive those who have died in these events.

Second Khutbah:

Oh Muslims,

In the month of Muharram, a caller to Allah was for to flee from his da’wa, a brother of Muhammad, salla Allahu alahi wa salam. Both of them were on the same path. They had the same journey. They called to the same thing. Indeed, this brother is Musa, peace be upon him.

A prophet is not sent, except that an oppressor is placed in order to oppose him. A leader of da’wa does not carry his conviction, except that there is a tyrant that prepares to fight him. This is the sunnah of Allah, and you will not find in the sunnah of Allah any change.  And if Allah did not defend some people from others, this earth would be thoroughly corrupted. In this month Musa was expelled from Egypt, expelled by the evil Pharaoh. Likewise, our own beloved Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was expelled from Mecca by the Quraysh, in this month. As Allah says in Surah al-Furqan: “ Thus have we made for every prophet an enemy from amongst the sinners; but enough is thy Lord to guide and to help.” (25:31)

Musa and the Children of Israel clashed with the sea. The army was behind them; death and the sea were in front of them. Where to, oh Lord? To Allah. Musa turned and called to Allah, and Allah is close.

“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close: I respond to the prayer of every caller when he calls me.” (2:186)

The Children of Israel said:

“Oh Musa, they army will catch us!” And Musa smiled, as Muhammad, peace be upon him, smiled in the cave. He said: “By no means! My Lord is with me! Soon he will guide me!  Where will He guide you? Pharaoh is behind you, the sea is in front of you!(26:61-62)

This dilemma had no solution. In the limited perspective of man there was no escape, but Musa said: “My Lord is with me and he will soon guide me.” At that point the command came. “Don’t delay, strike the sea with your staff, in the Name of Allah.” He struck the sea, and it split, it burst, and a path emerged for them. Musa and the Children of Israel walked. The tyrant came, to test them one last time in this life. But damned be the oppressors and tyrants, who always meet destruction. Either hearts curse them, while they are walking on the earth, or the earth swallows them, or Allah sends afflictions upon them, or Allah prepares for them the Fire.

Pharaoh arrived with his army, but Musa was saved. Allah said to the sea: “Come together!” and it did. That was the end of that criminal. When he realized the reality he said: “I believe that there is no god except Him Whom the Children of Israel believe in: and I am one of those who submit. “But it was too late for him. Allah then said:

“Now, but a little while before you were in rebellion, and you did much mischief and violence.” (10:90-91)

At that moment! In a way, Allah is saying: ‘After you have done so many horrible things, so many crimes, claimed to be the Almighty Lord, now you seek forgiveness. The answer is no.” And Musa was saved.

For this Messeneger, peace be upon him, shared with his brother the same joy of success and victory. He shared with his colleague the journey of da’wa and propagation of the Message of the Lord of the Worlds. In this beautiful day, the day of ‘Ashura, Allah saved his believing righteous slave, and the believers who were with him. He saved them from the plans of Pharaoh and his people. The Day of ‘Ashura remains as a day in which we are reminded of the destruction of the most dangerous of tyrants on the earth, and it remains as a day in which we are reminded of the victory of Allah, and his kindness and support for his believing slaves.

Our Prophet, peace be upon him, found the Children of Israel in Medina, fasting the day of ‘Ashura, and he asked: “What is this day?” They said: “It is the day that Allah saved Musa.” He said: “ We are closer to Musa than you.” For Musa is our brother, our beloved, and we carry the way of Musa, not you, and he fasted that day, salla Allah alaihi wa salam, as it is recorded in Sahih Muslim: the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “I hope from Allah (that this day) will be an expiation for (the sins of) the past year.”

It is from the Sunnah to fast a day before it, or a day after it, the ninth and tenth from this month, or the tenth and eleventh, as our Prophet said: “ It is for me to fast the ninth and tenth.” So may Allah be pleased with Musa, his da’wa, his way, his humility, and his sacrifice, and may Allah be pleased with Muhammad, peace be upon him, for his humility, courage, and sacrifice, for the sake of this Ummah. And may Allah be pleased with whoever follows his way, salla Allahu alaihi wa salam, and sacrifices for the sake of his conviction, and is humble for the sake of his da’wa, and takes part in spreading his message.

I ask Allah to gather us with Muhammad, salla Allahu alahi wa salam, and Ibrahim, and Musa, and Isa, with the good and pure, the righteous martyrs, the pious and true, on the seat of truth next to the Lord of the Worlds.

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