Abdul Rahman Chao - 5-17-24

The Prophet's Simple Living

One time Umar ibn al-Khattab radiallahu anhu, he sought permission to enter the house of the Prophet ﷺ. And as he entered, he noticed that the Prophet ﷺ was laying on a very simple mat. Not like what we have today, large thick mattresses, but a very simple mat. And he was lying on his side.

And he said that he sat down and he drew up his lower garment. He basically lifted up a little bit of his garment, but there was nothing else. He didn't have all these fancy clothes on him. That's the meaning of it. And the mat that the Prophet ﷺ was sleeping on had left visible marks on the Prophet ﷺ's body. He said, I looked over at the closet of the Prophet ﷺ. And I saw that there was a tiny bit of barley.

And I also saw in another corner of his room a small pile of leaves. And then I saw on the wall of the Prophet ﷺ's bedroom a leather bag hanging. And upon seeing this, Umar ibn al-Khattab radiallahu anhu, he immediately started weeping.

So the Prophet ﷺ said to him, يَا بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ مَا يُبْكِيكَ What is, O son of Khattab, yani Umar, what is it that makes you weep?

So the Prophet ﷺ asked Umar, why are you weeping? So Umar said, Messenger of Allah, why should I not be weeping? Look at this mat and how it has left marks on the side of your body. Look at this closet, this cupboard of yours. I see whatever I see inside, basically there's nothing in there.

And yet, Caesar of Rome, of the Byzantine, or perhaps in this context, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire. And Kisra of Persia, the emperor, the king of Persia. They are living amongst fruits and amongst flowing rivers.

And yet you are the messenger of Allah ﷺ. And you are the chosen one. And this is what your closet and cupboard looks like. So the Prophet ﷺ said, Oh Umar, would you not be pleased? Are you not satisfied that we have the akhirah and they have this world? So Umar ibn al-Khattab, he says, Indeed, of course.

Understanding True Asceticism (Az-Zuhd)

Brothers and sisters, this hadith gives us a snapshot, a glimpse into the room, into the household of the Prophet ﷺ. And how basic and how frugal and how ascetic the Prophet ﷺ. And this concept that we see here in the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ is none other than az-zuhd, asceticism, of being frugal.

It is the opposite of greed. What you see today, the immense corporate greed that is going on, as well as personal greed. People always seeing some little defect in their clothing and they want to throw it away. They have to have the latest phone. They have to have the latest model. Knowing the labor that goes in it, the cobalt mines that are in the Congo, and how toxic it is for the people in the Republic of Congo.

And we are not saying it's haram to buy a new phone. We are saying, compare the contentment of the Prophet ﷺ and compare it to the capitalistic greed that we live in. And how do we measure up?

Brothers and sisters, some people think that az-zuhd, asceticism, is about making haram what Allah has made halal. And that is incorrect. So, they think that the person who is a zahid should be wearing ugly clothes, tattered clothes, rough clothes, that perhaps they should live a life of suffering and penury, and to be walking on their bare feet. And if that was the true meaning of az-zuhd, if that was the meaning of asceticism, the Prophet ﷺ would not have worn nice clothing. He would have worn ugly clothing. He would have gone barefoot. But yet, what did the Prophet ﷺ tell us?

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 164)

Verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.

And Allah tells us in the Qur'an, O sons of Adam, wear your finest of clothing when you go to the houses of Allah.

But the true meaning of asceticism, brothers and sisters, is to not become attached to this world. And Hassan al-Basri, one of the great scholars of Islam, he defined az-zuhd, impossibly the best definition you can come across. He said:

Asceticism is that you have wealth in your hand, but it is not in your heart. So you take whatever Allah has given you, you work hard, you strive hard, it is at what? At arm's length. So the money that Allah has given you, you work with it, you don't shun it like you see in the eastern religions, where the ascetic, the sadhu, for example, the monk has shaved their heads and they've relied on begging people for food.

Islam does not want that. Islam is saying, take what the blessings Allah has given you, work with it, work with it, but don't let it come into your heart. Because when it comes into your heart, you will become attached to it. And when you become attached to it, many sins come forth afterwards.

The Example of Sufyan al-Thawri

Sufyan al-Thawri was one of the greatest scholars of Islam, born in the first century of the Hijri calendar. He was one of the greatest zuhad, he was an ascetic. But yet he was extremely wealthy. And so for some people they might think, this is a contradiction, this is a scholar, this is a great scholar in Islam, he's an ascetic, he's a zahid, yet he is extremely wealthy, what kind of contradiction is that?

So he said, no, there is no contradiction. Why? He said, because as a scholar, you do not want to become as he described, the handkerchief of the rulers. Because what happens is, when you're on the dime of the ruler and the person in charge, they will use you like a napkin. And your opinions will become indebted to what they give you. So he wanted financial independence.

But how is he rich and also a zahid? Because that wealth, he didn't make his own value of, or his own sense of self-worth based on how much money he has.

Allah's Warning About This World

Brothers and sisters, Allah tells us in the Qur'an:

Allah says in the Qur'an, Know, and look how Allah is addressing you. In other words, by not knowing this, this is ignorance. So if you want to have true knowledge, know this life lesson that Allah is saying here. Know what? أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا That this world, what is the summary of it? لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ It is amusement and it is distraction. وَزِينَةٌ And pretty things, nice looking things.

وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ And for that one person will compare to another who has more wealth, who has more power. وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ Comparing who is more wealthy, who has more wealth, and who has a larger family. It's like what? كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ It's like a rain that comes and it rains on a piece of land and all of a sudden this land turns green and they're benefiting from it and they kind of forget that this will go away.

ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا And then it dries up one day and it shrivels away and it turns into dust and in the hereafter there is either forgiveness and pleasure from Allah and there could be punishment from Allah. وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ And this world is nothing but an enjoyment of delusion.

Second Khutbah

A Parable of This World's Worth

One of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ by the name of Zahhak was one time sitting and he was eating and in front of him he had some milk and he had some meat and when the Prophet ﷺ said what do you have in front of you? He wasn't saying because he cannot see he wants to educate him and teach him something.

So he said I have meat and I have milk in front of me. So the Prophet ﷺ said And what is going to happen after you eat that? And out of respect of the Prophet ﷺ Zahhak didn't say it will turn into excrement. No, he said it will turn into what you know it will turn into.

So the Prophet ﷺ he says Verily Allah has given us a parable in which this world and its worth is like the food that goes in and passes through our body. In other words it looks nice at the beginning and all of this world will eventually turn into what you don't like. In another narration the Prophet ﷺ he says If this world was worth anything even if it was worth the value of a mosquito wing then Allah would not have allowed the disbelievers to even drink one sip of water from it.

Why? Because this world is nothing compared to the next life.

Lessons from Gaza

Brothers and sisters We see we are now entering the 7th, 8th month of what is going on in the Holy Land in Palestine, in Gaza. And our hearts are slowly having calluses over it. We see the videos on social media and we quickly scroll past because our hearts are so fragile. And you are not to be blamed for that. But in one of the videos I saw this man his entire house was destroyed. His entire business was demolished into dust. And so the person asked him What are you going to do after this? He first said Alhamdulillah. He said all praise is due to Allah.

And then he said Inshallah we will start over again. This is what it means to be a zahid. That Allah gave you the tools you use it for what is good but your heart is not attached to it in a way where if Allah tests you and takes it away that you scream and you shout and you moan and you are displeased with Allah's predestination and judgment.

And therefore brothers and sisters it is time for us to rethink the way how we spend, the way how we consume, and the way how we interact with our wealth and with this dunya.