| THE STREET MIMBAR JUM'AH KHUTBAH (12 February 2010) webpage: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=182501078290&ref=ts http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_street_mimbar/ PLEASE e-mail Suggestions & Criticisms to khutbahs@yahoo.com It is in such a manner that We make plain Our signs so that the course of the Criminals may become clear. | Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha Al Mu'minoon… Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/khutbassermons.htm (01-29-2010) (I know this is a cold day, so I usually say that I'm going to make my khutbah shorter and to convince myself I'm telling you now, (at the beginning), I'm going to try to make my khutbah shorter.) THE GENESIS OF THE BREAKDOWN OF TAQWA Oh you who are securely committed to Allah guard against Allah as is due to Him in the full measurement of this guard and do not die except in a state of submission to Him. (Surah Aal Imran verse 102) The most important thing for us is to acquire/nurture/reinforce/strengthen the attitude of taqwa until we know and until we behave in a way that demonstrates that we truly acknowledge Allah's power presence in our lives. Haqqa tuqatihi does not mean that we are going to be afraid of other powers short of/lesser than/inferior to Allah- that's not haqqa tiqatihi. Our life is moving; the days keep on rolling and we are approaching the moment of surrender when we will give back to Allah what He has given us, but it turns out- with working minds- we realise that the biggest obstacle between us and gaining this essential taqwa are the powers/governments/militaries and all the structures that go along with them- this is the biggest obstacle. We, Muslims, have to grow/mature/evolve to a degree/status that it doesn't matter whatever power there is in this world- especially if that power "belongs to us", is abused and if it is concentrated/dictatorial we have to expose it! We live with a religious attitude that looks askance when these powers are looking us in the eyes. These powers have what it takes to do what they are doing to us and we look the other way as if nothing is happening. This day is a day of taqwa; this hour is an hour of taqwa. If you're afraid of these concentrated and abusive powers in the rest of the week, don't come to Jum'ah, the khutbah, the Mimbar of Rasulillah and to the institution of the Juma'ah at this time and in this day every week and expect more of the same capitulation to these powers. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims wherever you may be- the powers that have institutionalised dhulm and then gave it a gloss/veneer of legitimacy have caused us to go off balance. Let us out-grow our traditionalism. Out grow it!! Can't we do that and see that in our past we had a tragedy like the tragedy in Karbala'. There's nothing wrong with looking at this with a heart and mind that comes from Allah and His Prophet. If we do that, are not sectarians, reactionaries or traditionalists. We take a look and this and we see that we had a concentration of abusive power that brought us this tragic chapter in our history. But what happened after that? Some Muslims did not want to look at this tragedy and learn from it, and still they live today- they don't want to look and learn from it. Others visit this tragedy with their emotions and they convince themselves that there cannot be a legitimate leader after Al Imam Al Hussein (alaihi as salaam wa radi Allahu anhu) so they are comfortable with the quiescent character that they have acquired. This is what we mean when we say that these powers/governments have had such a negative impact on us that we are still reeling from hundreds of years of their blows to our psychologies and minds. Another lesson- if we can just liberate ourselves from Islam as a culture and assume Islam as an ideology- we begin to look and see (that) wait a minute we had another abuse of power. Remember, when we factor in Allah's power, there's nothing wrong in looking at the abuse of man's power. We can't take a look at that with the God given mind that we have?! Yazid, the son of Muawiya, attacked Al Madinah and the commander Muslim ibn Uqbah laid it to waste. For three consecutive days blood was flowing (and) Muslim women's honour was violated. What's wrong with us (that) we can't take a look at this and say "wait a minute something went wrong here and look at the details and facts that happened" so that we can sort this thing out without becoming fanatics/dumb about it. There was a revolt- there were many revolts- one of the revolts of the Umawi dynasty at the time was called the revolt of At tawwabeen and that was to take avenge for the shahada of Hussein. Once again, the experience that we have is no one wants to consider/look at it with their minds/brains. There was another revolt in Al Kufa, (about two years after that, in the year 67 of the hijrah), that was put down. We can't understand this history because we come from a tradition that has become a religion that has cast these events in such a way that they become resistant to our way of thinking! In the year 73 of the hijrah there was a revolt in Makkah, Al Masjid Al Haram, by Abdullah ibn Az Zubair (radi Allahu anhu)- an opponent of the Umawi monarchy and then these forces go to Makkah and they destroy the Ka'aba with their catapult. Large loads of rocks/boulders were thrown/released by these catapults against the Ka'aba. Where is this in our thinking mind? We don't want this somewhere in the corner of our emotions- even though it is not there! How many Muslims do you know who quote/cite the details of this aggression of power against the House of Allah? Why did it go down the memory hole of we, the collective Muslims? What happened? We can't look at this fair-and-square? We come to a, (we think), revolutionary person who took issue with the Umawi dynasty- and there were many Muslims at that time who were against the Umawi dynasty. There's nothing wrong with that. (It's) just like today- you can be against the Saudi dynasty. Is there anything wrong with that? You can be principled/disciplined about it and eventually you can be revolutionary about it in the true spirit of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. An Imam/leader begins to put together a force to terminate the excesses, injustices, oppression and killing of the first monarchy in Islam. These are brave words. You won't find many scholars coming and referring to the rulers of that time as monarchs/kings- they still have their traditional pigeon hole description of these figures. He, (this leader), says a statement that also goes unrecognised by you and me and the average Muslim i.e. a leader belonging to us is not a person who goes behind curtains. He is referring to some potential leaders that the Muslims had who chose not to face off against monarchies with the force that it takes. Look brothers and sisters, with all these years- 1,400 years- and we still don't have a definition of when it becomes necessary for Muslims to oppose regimes of tyranny within their midst?! Why? Because we never thought through it. How are we going to define/assess/measure something if we don't think through it? We lament the condition that we are in when we are incapable of thinking through these events. He said a leader is a person who presents himself with his arms/sword/might. This statement doesn't live among the Muslims of today! We deliberately are not mentioning the person who said this because we want to reflect on ourselves and know how ignorant we are of our own selves. Then he goes on and says it always happens that when people are averse to their heat of the sword that they will be disgraced. How accurate/precise! We're talking about Avoid Allah as Power and Authority and say/express what is accurate/right. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) You want the fear of Allah and you want the truth? This is exactly what it is- the fear and caution of Allah that is accompanied by accurate words/descriptions of reality. So when an average/common sense person sees that the government that Muslims have is ruling with an iron fist and with policies/procedures/politics that violate the heart of Islam which is justice he stands up and he tries to get the Muslims to get their act together, (in today's words), and he sees some Muslims- as is the case today if you speak to these Muslims around- you'll find that they're more interested with their pocket than they are with their principles! They are more concerned with their profits then they are with the Prophets. This is what we have. It's a fact of life. Can't we learn from this fact of life? So when he sees that there's reluctance around, he says even if it's going to be a confrontation that is reduced to me and my son against the Umawi king then, that is what it is going to be. This demonstrates at taqwa in its most brilliant character. He goes and expresses himself to the Muslim public- this is what has to be done and you have some Muslims who support him Abu Hanifa, Waasil ibn Ata' and Sufyan Ath Thawri were supporters; and then there were tens of thousands of people saying we will sign on into this effort. Of course, that wasn't what was going to transpire eventually. This is another experience that we had. There was a flare up of support that we had, but when the final moment comes can we sustain that flare up of support!? This area has not been investigated by the rational, calm and measured Muslim mind. Remember- brothers and sisters- when we, Muslims, stand in opposition to abusive and tyrannical powers we need our solidarity, (as much of it as is possible). He turns to some of the Muslims around him and they tell him ok we will support you, but what is your opinion about Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma). And he says I know what you mean/your question/where you're going but this is not the time for it; and they also rationalised that they're not going to participate in this uprising. Brothers and sisters- we are speaking about our own experience here. We have Allah's guidance; we have the practical Sunnah, behaviour and pattern of Allah's Prophet and then we have this experience/common heritage, (as it were), to consider and so when the final day came for these two forces to meet, the Umawi dynasty had 15,000 troops and this side/these "rebels" were 500. From the emotional flair up of support, when the day came- from tens of thousands to 500. Let us summarise for you what may be called a contract of activism- an Islamic revolutionary contract which was drawn up in our history but no Muslim is willing to approach it, (we say this in the manner that we express our sorrow for our history and our own selves). The 1st article in this contract is to abide/adhere to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His messenger- that's something that all Muslims can agree upon. Does anyone have a problem with that? The 2nd one is a jihad/struggle against oppressive authority and its functionaries. Anyone have any problem with that? The 3rd one is the support of the Mustad'afeen in the world. Does anyone have a problem with that? You can, (in your mind), review your traditional Islam against these principles/items of this contract that has the potential of drawing the Muslims together again. The 4th article is to empower the disenfranchised constituents and citizens of an Islamic society and state who were damaged by the political authority that be. The return to the Islamic method and methodology in as far as the equal distribution of wealth. Anyone have any problem with that? Shutting down the remote camps in which Muslim opposition figures were put into. They are not new- we've had the detention centres, prisons and jails that today's Muslims are put in, in the course of our history but we never learnt. If we don't learn, we're not going to be able to deconstruct these permanent features of our societies. Then the last element of this constitution of consolidating an Islamic popular movement against imposed governments is the support of those who belong to Allah's Prophet and his household. What's wrong with that? Does anyone have any problem with these put together? We tell you- brothers and sisters- as a matter of consciousness and conscience on this day and at this time- Jum'ah and Jama'ah and taqwa- that we, Muslims, all carry the burden of an unknown history and unlimited experiences that we have not discovered and researched with our God given minds; therefore as we approach the termination of our lives and responsibility as is inferred in the ayah Oh you who are securely committed to Allah, guard/be warned against His corrective power presence as is due to Him and do not expire except in a state of submission and surrender to the only Power/Authority/Divinity that is legitimate. (Surah Aal Imran verse 102) My dear committed Muslims… In today's world- the world that we are part of, the worlds that we owe our God-given responsibilities and tasks- this world in our Islamic circle has elements of intrigue and segments of divisiveness in it- this is a fact. We don't live in an illusory world. We live in a real one in which one of the problems we have is attributed to the absence of our mind. This is one of the functions of contemporary Masajid (where) you are supposed to enter and listen to words that do not stimulate your thoughts. These are called dead Masajid, and because of dead Masajid we have serious problems. One of these problems is what is called at takfir i.e. accusing/labelling another Muslim as a kafir. This is a problem we have. It's not new and because we have not taken a look at the genesis of this problem when it first began over 1,300 years ago, we live with it today. If we don't learn from our history, we are condemned to repeat it. We have today people who come and say "another Muslim is a kafir." Because of the way they pray or some of their rituals or because of this-that-or-the-other, the finger of kufr is pointed at them. This is a shame. We shouldn't be ashamed of this. Brothers and sisters, honest Muslims- the word of kufr and its derivatives are mentioned so many times in the Qur'an and Sunnah and it is not meant to be understood to divide and bleed us. If we have the courage to look at the world, we will find people who ascend the pulpits/Manabir on Friday and begin to point the accusation of kufr against other Muslims. This is not a monopoly of some sect/country verses another, it happens to be a perennial phenomenon and all of us are guilty of it. Why? For what purpose? Who's going to gain from all of this? We are not going to be able to terminate it while we go to a Masajid and spend an hour or two of slumber on Friday without getting down to the real world and the real problems that we have that we have to solve together. Today, we have Muslims who for some historical repression are over emphasizing their denominational character. Why? Any person of common sense and unpolluted human nature can sense an ego in people/individuals who do this. We have a past. We all have a responsibility to live the principles/standards of justice that belong to us and to the rest of mankind. It's not a monopoly. Oh Messenger, we have dispatched you to humanity… (Surah verse ) We don't have enough brotherhood/togetherness in solidarity to respond. Just in this past month, they put new restrictions at airports pertaining to many Muslims who come from Muslim countries. Even if you are an American citizen, (just like yours truly here. If I go and visit a Muslim country that is on that list of 14 countries and I'm coming back to this country), they want to look into my crevices! They want to feel my private parts and we cannot speak to these types and authorities with one voice?! One of these Embassies, (it is in the news, nothing secret here), the Saudi Embassy sends a letter that "it feels incense that when its citizens arrive at the airport here, they are forced to go through these types of procedures." Why should it be one country who is protesting this? (Not that we agree with the dynasty that rules there.) It goes and sends a letter to the State Department that it is "upset by these procedures." Why can't the fourteen other countries do the same thing? Because it is not in their nature and even this, probably, was done without common knowledge of it. We have to hear it from the Mimbar. We haven't been shy on expressing the truth/facts as they are without emotionalism, exaggeration, bending the facts and twisting the data and all of this other stuff that goes on. Avoid Allah as Power and Authority and say/express what is accurate/right. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) In that same kingdom, (this is in just the past day or two), those Muslims who are Shi'is began to go to a Masjid- this Masjid is called Masjid An Nur- in the town/city of Khubar in the Eastern part of Saudi Arabia, (as it is called). Muslims- Sunnis and Shi'is- were praying together at this Masjid- Masjid An Nur. So, a person comes and he tells the Shi'is "get out of the Masjid!" Why? What's wrong with him? Does the Masjid belong to him? We've been living this for twenty-seven years. When we are a mixed crowd of Sunnis and Shi'is and it's the same Saudi dynasty that controls this Masjid and they come and tell us "get out!" And here we see it again. They tell the Muslims "get out!" Why? What's wrong? Someone's bothered when Muslims are coming and praying together?! This is what happens. The person is so upset, he goes and shuts off the lights in the Masjid so that these Muslims and these Shi'is are not permitted to build Masajid in the Eastern part of Saudi Arabia. In that particular city they pray in what is called mussalla's. What's wrong? Muslims are not permitted to build their Masajid!? But this is a type of official attitude that has poisoned the brotherhood and the togetherness of we, the Muslims. We all read And hold on, altogether, to that which Allah extends to you and don't be divided… (Surah Ahl Imran verse 103) but there is a difference between reading it and behaving it. We happen to have officials who are very technical in reading it, but lackadaisical and absent minded in applying it. It seems like all the news that comes out of that kingdom is disturbing/divisive news- none of it pertaining to the Qur'an or Sunnah. (These are) words of truth on a day of taqwa and Allah is our witness. This khutbah was presented by Imam Muhammed Asi on the occasion of Jum'ah on 29 January 2010 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jum'ah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige. |
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