Reminders

34 Reminders - Abdullah Hakim Quick

Introduction: The Straight Path of Islam

Islam gives us a straight path. The Prophet peace be upon him left the three axioms. Make relations with those who cut you off. Even if somebody is doing bad to you, you still do good back. Speak the truth even if it is against yourself. And let us never forget that the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him told his companions on that Arafat sermon that those who are present should take this message to those who are absent.

The Message of Unity and Equality

It is the message of the belief in one God. We should not be involved in oppression of any type. It is also the message that there is no preference of the white over the black or the black over the white. There is no preference of the Arabs over the non Arab or the non Arabs over the Arabs. It is only that consciousness, that piety and action that separates the believers. That message was also the one that said men have rights over women, but women also have rights over men.

Following the Book and Sunnah

It is that message that has shown us that there are two affairs. There are two things. If you follow them, you will never go astray. And that is the book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The Prophet peace be upon him was asked, what will be the main reason why people will enter paradise? And so the Prophet peace be upon him answered and said, (تَقْوَىٰ ٱللَّٰهِ وَحُسْنُ ٱلْخُلُقِ - Taqwa Allah wa husnul khuluq). He said it is the consciousness of Allah and good character.

And then they asked him, oh messenger of Allah, what would be the main reason why people will enter hellfire? And he said, (الفَمُ وَالفَرْجُ - alfam wal faraj). He said the mouth and the private parts.

Opening Greetings and Praise

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. All praises are due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may the choicest peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, his family and his companions forever. I begin with the greeting words of the righteous. (السلام عليكم ورحمة الله - As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah).

The Prophet as the Best Example

Almighty Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) has blessed this nation with the example of the messenger of Allah peace be upon him. He was a source of mercy and he was (أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ - Uswatun Hasana). He was the best example, the best model. And he showed within his life balance. He showed within his life how to be an individual who was involved in spiritual affairs and also involved in material affairs. How to be a person who was involved in politics, but at the same time would be praying to his Lord. How to be a person who was a businessman, but an honest businessman. A person who was involved as a leader of a nation, but was the most honest of people.

The Need for Balance Against Extremism

And so this beautiful example is one of balance. And we are so in need of that today because extremism is tearing our communities apart. Extremism has hit the Christian world and the Buddhist world and the Jewish world and the traditional religions of Africa and Asia. And it has also hit the world of Islam. And so what we need is the middle road (أُمَّةً وَسَطًا - Ummatun wasata). That we should be the middle road moving along (صِرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ - Siratul Mustaqeem) in the way of our Prophet peace be upon him.

Warning Against the Two-Faced Person

And so the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) has warned us of the opposite. And he told us in one authentic hadith reported in Bukhari, you will find amongst the worst people on the day of resurrection in the eyes of Allah is the two-faced person. (Sahih al-Bukhari 6058) That is the one who comes to people with one face and then he goes to others with another face. So this is the two-faced person. The one who shows one face at home and another face outside with his friends. The person while in the masjid is showing a face of piety. But then when he goes to his work or when he goes to school, he changes up according to the environment. That is the two-faced individual.

The Danger of Role Playing

And it is very easy within the society today to find ourselves falling in a problem such as this. And when this happens, we find individuals in what could be called role playing. And so they play a role. If they are with their friends in a secular type environment, they become secular. If it's time to go to the masjid, they put on the hat of Islam or the scarf of Islam and they become Islamic. But once they're finished, they leave the hat in the masjid and go back to the secular world. This type of dichotomy within personality is a dangerous phenomena. It is dangerous because it can even affect the identity of the individual.

Examples of Identity Confusion

In some cases, we find the individual at home is Bilal. And Bilal is such a nice boy. He makes his prayers and he's so honorable and so polite. But when Bilal goes outside and down the street and he goes to school, Bilal becomes Billy. Billy's is a different story altogether. Billy has an attitude, a bad attitude. He swears. He is rude and arrogant. And so the beautiful Bilal has changed into the arrogant Billy. Ali becomes Al. Muhammad becomes Mo. Sumaya becomes May. Asia becomes Asia. And so the names change. And some people even print it on their business card. They say Mo instead of Muhammad.

When Role Playing Becomes Dangerous

And people do have to change somewhat according to their environment. If I were to play sports, if I were to play soccer, I wouldn't come with a three-piece suit with a briefcase. I'd put on the clothing to play soccer. So that is a form of role-playing. Where the danger comes in is when the character of the individual changes. So if that individual is around people who swear and have bad character, he also swears and his character becomes bad. If he goes around people who are trying to fear Allah and trying to have taqwa, then suddenly he becomes a pious person. That is the danger. And that role-playing could even turn into schizophrenia. Well, that is a mental disease. And that is where the person actually loses control of himself and can no longer control the roles. And so Bilal now comes to his parents. The father says to the young boy, it's time for Salah. And the father turns around and Bilal is gone, Billy standing there. And a problem develops in the family. And so this can become a mental problem. And it is something which we should seriously consider in this world today in how we are relating to each other and how we are relating to the society outside of us. Because Islam gives us a straight path.

Making Islam Relevant Today

What we are in need of today is to look at Islam from original sources, to be able to go back to the book of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala), to the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and to make these two original sources relevant in the world today. The Quran should not take us back 1400 years and leave us back there. The Sunnah should not take us back 1400 years and then leave us in the middle of the desert with the companions and not relevant to the digital technology or the age that we are living in today. But this Quran and this Sunnah should take us back and let us drink from the original sources, the pure sources of Islam, and then transport that understanding to the world we are living in today. So that Islam would become relevant to our lives and that our role-playing would only change slightly and maybe partly how we dress and in partly the actions we are doing, but the character should stay the same.

Maintaining Character in All Situations

If the Muslim is involved in sports, he should not be cursing the enemy. Foul words should not come out of his mouth. If the Muslim is involved in business, he should remain an honest person, just as he was in the masjid. If the Muslim is at school and there are non-Muslims there, then he should show character to the other students. If a Muslim even becomes a politician, then he should not become a crook or a liar. He should not change and say one thing before elections and another thing after elections. But the politician should be the most honest person within our community. Our leaders should be the most humble people. They should be the ones we can trust more than anybody else within our community. That is the straight path.

Living in the World but Not of the World

That is the ummatun wasata. Those are the people who are living in the world, but they are not of the world. These are the people who could drive even a new vehicle and still fear Allah. These are the people who fly in airplanes and still find a way to make their prayers. These are the people who can travel to lands outside of the world of Islam and still be able to maintain the eating of halal and their actions. These are the people who are consistent with their Islam, who Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) blesses with the one culture and that is the culture of the Prophet. Peace and blessings be upon him. He did not speak from himself and he was the example of mercy. He was the one who gave us the straight path, the middle road, not extreme to one side or the other, but right down the center.

Closing Prayer

I pray that Allah would not help, would not make us be of those who have two faces and would be the most despicable people on the day of resurrection. But I pray that Allah would help us to be of those who would have one face and that is the face of Islam, the face of the Sunnah, the face of the love of the Creator and the sincerity in dealing with all of humanity. May Allah bless this Ummah. May Allah help the non-Muslims to see the truth of Islam. I leave you with these thoughts and I ask Allah to have mercy upon me and you. (السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته - Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh).

Introduction to Dialogue on Concept of God

Dr. Zakir Naik. The concept of God in any religion is to try and understand what the sacred scriptures have to speak about that religion or the concept of God in that religion. We need to bring people together and I see that is the real service that we do to God. But the main purpose is to understand and let the followers of these two great religions come together like what we have done today. Imagine it's a historic event. Dialogue between Dr. Zakir Naik and Sri Sri Ravishankar on concept of God in Hinduism and Islam in the light of sacred scriptures in crossfire.

Opening of Second Khutbah

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful, all praises are due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may the peace and blessings of Allah be constantly sent to our beloved Prophet Muhammad, to his family and his companions and all those who established his sunnah to the day of judgment.

The Prophet as the Complete Example

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was the complete example of Islam. And Aisha (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا - radiallahu anha) used to say, if you want to see the Quran walking and talking, then look to the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. From the beginning of his prophethood all the way to the last moments of his life, he cared about his ummah.

The Legacy of Three Axioms

And in one tradition, which is not so well known to our community and was reported by Ali ibn Abi Talib (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - radiallahu anhu), in this tradition we are left with a legacy. In this tradition the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has given to the Muslims a legacy, axioms that would last to the day of judgment. And in this century that we are going into now, with the great wars in the world and the tension, racial tension, economic tension, political tension, we are in need of strong examples and axioms, principles to guide us through these perilous times.

Discovery of the Parchment in the Sword

Ali (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - radiallahu anhu), may Allah be pleased with him reports, when I took possession of the weapons of the messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, I found in the hilt of the sword was a parchment. And on that parchment was the following, (صِلْ مَنْ قَطَعَكَ وَأَحْسِنْ إِلَى مَنْ أَسَاءَ إِلَيْكَ وَقُلِ الْحَقَّ وَلَوْ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ - Sil man qata'ak wa ahsin ila man asa'a ilayk wa qul al-haqq wa law 'ala nafsik). Ali (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - radiallahu anhu) found a parchment in the hilt of the sword. So the Prophet, peace be upon him, must have had somebody do the writing and the following words were written, make relations with those who cut you off and do good to people even though they harm you and speak the truth even if it is against yourself.

The Prophet's Message of Mercy

And so we see the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was (رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ - rahmatan lil'alameen), he was a mercy for all of the worlds. What do people put on their guns and their swords today? If you find a person shooting a missile or he has his gun, he says born to kill. He calls it hellfire. He uses different damning type words. This is the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who even in times of war was thinking about bringing people together, about forgiveness, about mercy, about the ultimate goal of Islam. This is what Muslims are really about.

First Axiom: Make Relations with Those Who Cut You Off

And so in this legacy, the Prophet, peace be upon him, left the three axioms. He said, make relations with those who cut you off. Many people are accepting Islam today and have Christian families. And they cut them off. They're told to totally cut them off. But know the Prophet, peace be upon him, kept his relationship with people. Yes, he stood up for the truth. Yes, he would not follow anybody and taught us not to follow even our mothers and our fathers if they are leading us to polytheism or leading us astray. But the relationships, keep relationship with people. And those who are cutting you off, if they cut you off at one time, make relationship back with them. This is the way of the dawah. This is the outreach that the Prophet, peace be upon him, did. And we find in his relationship with many of the people of Mecca that he maintained himself and he was able to see them at one point in his life accept Islam.

Second Axiom: Do Good to Those Who Harm You

The second axiom is, (وَأَحْسِنْ إِلَى مَنْ أَسَاءَ إِلَيْكَ - wa ahsin ila man asa'a ilayk). And even if somebody is doing bad to you, that person is harming you, you still do good back. We don't fight evil with evil. Our character should remain good under all circumstances. And we find it today when people are trying to reject Muslims, are trying to give us a bad image, are even doing things which are unethical in reporting against Muslims. We do not fight evil with evil, but we take the higher ground and we show that Islam is the way of life representing the creator of the heavens and the earth.

The Story of Ta'if

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when the times were difficult in Mecca, he went to Ta'if. The persecution drove him to the mountains of the south. And when he went to Ta'if hoping to see people come into Islam, their answer was to stone him until the blood ran down into his sandals. And it is reported that the angel of the mountain appeared to him and told him in words that he would destroy the people of Ta'if, but the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, no, maybe there would be somebody who would say, there is no God but Allah. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, lived to see the people of Ta'if come into Islam in crowds. Do good to people even if they harm you. This is a difficult axiom, but it is so important for Muslims today. And that does not mean that we don't defend ourself. We do defend ourself, but even in our self-defense, even when we are being harmed, we do not use the evil methods or the cruel methods of the unbelievers.

Third Axiom: Speak the Truth Even Against Yourself

Finally, the Prophet, peace be upon him, has given us an important axiom in conflict resolution. And speak the truth even if it is against yourself. This is a very important point. Because Muslims in many parts of the world, whether it be on a community level, whether it be on a national level, they find themselves at odds. One side is saying A and the other side is saying B. How do you resolve this conflict? One says white and the other says black.

Resolving Conflicts Through Divine Guidance

The believer in this case, as our divine guidance has told us, if you find differences, then take it back to Allah and His Messenger. Go back to the original sources. Go back to the early Salaf as-Saleh, those people who gave us that foundation in the purity of the original message. And then we can resolve the truth. And if I am wrong, I am wrong. You know, it's easy for a person if he's in an argument. If he's right, then it's easy to be honest and to be straightforward. But if he's wrong, does he admit to his brother or his sister, I am wrong. I have made a mistake. You, my brother, you, my sister, you are correct. And I accept your opinion. I accept what you have said.

The High Moral Ground of Admitting Mistakes

That is the high moral ground. That is the way of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Because the Izzah, the might, the perfection is with Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala). Perfection, Kamal, it is not with us. We are imperfect creatures. We are human beings, Insan, Nisyan, we forget. We make mistakes and we should accept the fact that we are wrong in the circumstances that we are in. If this type of conflict resolution can come about, then in our communities, we can come together in peace. In our nations, we could also resolve the nations if our leaders would even admit that they were wrong and bring it back to Allah and his messenger. This is the straight path.

Conclusion: Following the Eternal Words

Allah has blessed us with a Prophet, peace be upon him, whose words are eternal and will stay with us to the day of resurrection. But will we follow these words and will we become those who can make relations with those who cut them off and do good to people even if they harm them and speak the truth even if it is against themselves. I say what I have said. I ask Allah to have mercy on me and you. Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.