Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims… Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/apps/podcast/podcast/19269 (11-16-2010) EID AL ADHA 2010 When we say Allahu Akbar we mean that Allah's power/authority/presence is more important/supportive/significant than anything/everything in existence. When Ibrahim (alaihi as salaam) had no where to go he found a place/home/refuge in what was to become Makkah/Al Haram/Al Ka'bah. Indeed Ibrahim was an Ummah of one… (Surah An Nahl verse 120) You cannot be an Ummah of one when you are not in your flesh/bones/heart/soul the human that characterisation of Allahu Akbar. Many Muslims at times are given in to their weak human nature. Human beings fluctuate. Sometimes we feel very strong/confident and other times we feel weak/vulnerable. When we say Allahu Akbar it takes away the arrogance of being strong/confident and the inferiority of being weak/helpless. Therefore when we say Allahu Akbar, especially when we mean Allahu Akbar, we become the characters of Allah's Prophets who are assembled in Makkah at this time of the year. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- the Prophet on this day, (we don't have the time to go through all the sentences/meanings of khutbah Al Wada'/the farewell speech that he gave on this day- Yawm Al Nahr- on his last Hajj to Al Bayt Al Haram. Some of what he said is the following… We will say these words with the spirit/attitude/mentality of Allahu Akbar. He said O subjects of Allah: I counsel you to be observant/cautious/vigilant of Allah's power presence and I encourage to show obedience to Him and I will begin this khutbah with what is good. Listen brothers and sisters because for a long time these words/meanings have been taken out of our public meetings/minds- then he goes on to say, among the other things that he said, (if only we listen), your blood/possessions/womanhood/skin are sanctified. What does it mean that our lives/persons/bodies/womanhood are sanctified? He says these are haram/cannot be violated. You cannot violate a Muslims body/possessions/family/mother/sister/father. O Prophet of Allah: if you could only see/witness the violations that are taking place. He said, among the other things that he said, I'll tell you who a Muslim is. He is the one who spares people any strike of his hand or any harming word that comes out of his mouth and a Mu'min is the one who people trust regarding their possessions/lives. Do we trust those who are making decisions for us concerning our possessions/lives? You (can) measure Rasulillah's words with the actions of people around us who decorate themselves with Islamic rituals but who cannot meet the standards of Allah's book/Prophet. Then he says a person who has taken flight/emigrated/sought asylum is the person who has abandoned his mistakes/shortcomings/sins and a Mujahid is a person who exerts his efforts and struggles his life in obedience to Allah, Most Exalted. A Mu'min is off limits to a Mu'min. What does he mean by off-limits? It means a Mu'min cannot violate the character/life/sanctity/dignity of another Mu'min. The Prophet becomes more specific. The flesh of as Mu'min is haram. You cannot consume his character by foul words and accusations and his womanhood are off-limits. You cannot violate a Mu'mins household/women/fathers/sister/mother. The Mu'mins face is off-limits- you can't slap him on the face; and his blood is off-limits- you cannot shed a Muslims blood; and his wealth is off-limits- you cannot acquire his wealth. Harming him is haram. Brothers and sisters: do we listen to our Prophet? When you read this, it should remind you of how committed Muslims have become non-entities. Anyone can do with them anything they want to do. What happens to a Muslim if a Muslim in today's world wants to live by the Qur'an and the Prophet's teachings? The Prophet says it is haram to strike a Committed Muslim on the face and it is haram to shed the blood of a committed Muslim. (Take a) look at what's happening. How many dungeons/prisons/detention centres/interrogation chambers there are in which Muslims (are held). Talk about hitting someone in the face- today they have techniques of torture that go much beyond what is mentioned here. This is happening to committed Muslims while we, Muslims of the world, are standing/present on this day in Makkah. Can we speak about these issues? Can we say what the Prophet of Allah said? Can we think about what the Prophet of Allah said when all of this is happening to us? If the Prophet of Allah we to be in Makkah today and if he was going to say the same words, (and there's much more- brothers and sisters: this is only a drop from an ocean of what he said in khutbah Al Wada'), in the same place/day/month they would turn to him and say "you can't speak politics in the Hajj!" What happened to our Hajj? We can't say the words of Allah's Prophet? Whoever has a trust should discharge that trust. What type of politics are they talking about? What type of people are in-charge of this Hajj? Brothers and sisters- we should never feel the arrogance of having power or the inferiority of the lack of power if we say Allahu Akbar and if we mean Allahu Akbar. On this day and at this time we say Allahu Akbar and we mean Allahu Akbar. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims… These two words go together: when you say Allahu Akbar/Allah is greater than everything else; when you know/feel that you are sure to follow that up by thanking Allah. Whatever condition you are in, if you are with Allah you cannot but say "O, thank you Allah for the condition that I am in" because this condition is not going to stay like this. It will change and it will continue changing until we meet Allah. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims- on this day, when we are supposed to consolidate our togetherness in the Hajj/Makkah/Al Balad Al Haram, we are just individuals there. There is no spirit of unity. We're sorry to say this but the way the Hajj is compartmentalised/fragmentised/fractured we cannot display our togetherness. We have to be frank with you brothers and sisters, especially those of you who come to the Jum'ah prayers. The day before yesterday, one of the satellite TV stations belonging to these people who are running the affairs of the Hajj over there called and said "are you willing to appear on one of the programs for fifteen-twenty minutes that speaks about the Hajj?" I said "yes." As you know, if there's no strings attached we'd speak anywhere about Allah and His Prophet. So we went there yesterday and they made it a point… When they contacted me initially the phone-call came in from O Allah: You know best. We have nothing to hide. We've always been an open book. Brothers and sisters- regardless of all of these conditions that we are in as persons/population try to make this time a time of joy/happiness in your heart and in the heart of your family members/acquaintances/neighbours/those who know you. Try to make this a day in which optimism reigns supreme (and) in which you are very confident of the presence of Allah (and) that after hardship there shall come ease. Eid Mubarak to you/yours/the rest of those deserving in the world. Eid Saeed wa kullu aamin wa antum bi khayr. Wa Salaamualaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jum'ah on 16 November 2010 on the sidewalk of |
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