The Message that Changed the World

Khutbah: The Message that Changed the World

By Dr. Bilal Philips

Opening

All praises due to Allah and may Allah's peace and blessings be on the last Messenger of Allah.

Introduction: The Message of Tawheed

The message that changed the world is the message of Tawheed. It is the message which was taught to Adam, the first human being, which changed his world.

And with every Prophet who was sent, of the 124,000 Prophets sent to all nations in the world, that message continued to change the world in each era of human history. With Prophet Muhammad ﷺ the message was now preserved in such a way that it would never change.

The earlier messages which changed the world in the area in which the Prophets were sent, those messages we know have changed. And even the Prophets who brought them, their names are now lost.

We just know in general because Allah told us in the Quran:

"I've sent to every nation a messenger calling people to worship Allah alone and to avoid the worship of false gods."

The Preservation of the Message

This essential message has been, as I said, preserved in Islam in a way that it was never preserved before. Not because the message was different, because it was the same message. But because of the fact that there would be no other Prophets who would come after Muhammad ﷺ. So therefore that message now had to be protected.

It had to be preserved in a way that none of the earlier messages were preserved. And Prophet Muhammad ﷺ left for us a blueprint as to how that message should be conveyed. He lived the message first and foremost.

He was an example of the effect of the message on a human being. And his example was preserved with such detail that anyone today who wants to know that message in its entirety with all of the details, he or she has access to it. And this is how it will remain until the last day of this world.

Even when Prophet Isa, Prophet Jesus comes back, He will not come back with a new message or a new interpretation of the message. He will come back following and teaching the same message.

And that was what Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told us at that time when he joins the prayers in Jerusalem, in Baytul Maqdis. And Imam Mahdi is going to lead the prayer. And when Imam Mahdi realizes that Prophet Jesus has joined the front lines of the prayer, he wants to step back and allow Prophet Jesus to lead.

And Prophet Jesus will stop him, put his hand in his back and let him go forward.

Our Duty to Convey the Message

And as I said earlier, the legacy of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the conveyance of that message. His job was to convey the message. And that job he has handed on to us today.

He was a messenger to the whole world, للعالمين. But how could that be? How is it that we have the message today when he didn't come to us? Because others conveyed that message to us.

So him being a messenger to all the world, it is realized by our carrying that message to the various nations and peoples that we come from, that we live amongst. And he gave us a very clear command:

"Convey whatever you have learned from me, even if it is only a single verse."

Everyone has a share in this legacy. It is not just for a single group, a particular organization. It is for each and every Muslim, a duty to convey this message to those around him or around her.

The Essence of Tawheed

That message is summed up in the short chapter at the end of the Quran, commonly known as Surah Al-Ikhlas. But also referred to by the early generation as Surah At-Tawheed, the chapter of Tawheed.

And the very first verse of that Surah:

"Say, He is Allah, the uniquely One," says everything. That is Tawheed in a nutshell.

Say, He is Allah, the uniquely One. Not just Allah who is One, that is Wahid. But Ahad means uniquely One. One like whom there is no other.

The rest of the Surah is only explaining the details of the unique oneness of Allah. How He is different from all other things in this world.

The Light the World Needs

And that is the essential message that we need to convey. And that message is the light which the nations of this world need. Whether they are secular, where they have rejected God altogether.

They argue that God is a figment of human imagination, mass delusion, irrational, illogical. Though, when you listen to their arguments, they are the ones that are illogical and irrational. The atheist who says, this is all an accident, who provides the foundation for secularism.

Religion is made up by human beings. Our existence, everything around us is all an accident. If you listen to their arguments, you will hear irrationality. You will hear an illogical argument, which goes against all human reason.

Though they like to say that those who believe in God are the ones who are irrational. It's blind faith, they say. You know, you are just following blind faith. There is no logical reason why you should believe in God.

If that were the case, then why is it everywhere on the face of the earth people believe in God. And they have believed in God as far back in history as we can possibly go. Everywhere.

Those who don't believe in God are few. They may be very loud, very vociferous, you can hear them, they are in the newspapers, or television, or whatever, very loud, but they are few. That in itself is proof that they are coming from an illogical point of view.

The Illogic of Atheism

But just to give you a brief example, just to know, get this clear in your head. قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ This is talking reality here. The atheist who says that belief in God, that God created all of this, God who is unique is not a part of this.

They say, if you were to take the colors of the rainbow, red, yellow, green, all these, paint, and put it in a bucket, tubes of paint, you stir it all up, and you take it, and you throw it against the wall, it is possible that there will appear from this mixture of colors, when you throw it on the wall, a Mona Lisa.

You know the picture of Mona Lisa? Rembrandt. Mona Lisa. Classic. They say, you mix it, and you throw it. Now, we know if you put paint in a bucket, and you throw it on the wall, maybe it might splatter, and you say, oh, that looks like a hand.

That looks like a foot. That maybe looks like a head. But this is not clear and sharp. Not Mona Lisa. A painting, you know, of a human being, this woman with the smile, the smile of Mona Lisa. You're not going to get that.

But they say, yes, if you keep mixing, and you keep throwing, not maybe the first time, maybe the billionth, billionth time, it will happen. We say, that is not logical. That is not reasonable.

That doesn't make sense. Common sense tells us, the first time you throw it, is like the billionth, billionth time that you throw it. It's still not going to happen.

But they have blind faith, that one time, it will happen. This is blind faith. This is not logic. This is illogical. But that's how they believe.

The Corruption of Tawheed

So, قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ addresses the reality that there is a God who created all of this. And this is a part of our message. That that God who created all of this is uniquely one. Not as people have deviated into.

They have the belief in God everywhere you go, but that belief which was originally taught by the prophets, got corrupted. So God became something mixed with the world around us. Something which they felt could be tangible.

We can put our hands on. We can look at it. You know, this is God. So, God can be found looking like a man. Jesus is God. There are people who believe God became a man and walked on this earth amongst us.

That's misguidance. If He became a man, then He's like everybody else. He's not unique. He's not unique. And in their story about Him, He died. He's not unique.

He died. That's what happens to everybody else. Everything else, they died. So He's not unique anymore. So the uniqueness of God is undermined and destroyed once you believe God became a man.

Then you have other societies, like in Hinduism. You have God like Ganesh. He's got the body of a man and a head of an elephant. He's the elephant head God, Ganesh. The God of good luck. And so on and so forth.

And those who worship idols, idols of God, if they're the common person, they'll say, yes, yes, we worship these idols. We believe that somehow these idols are going to do something for us.

But those who are more philosophical, they will tell you, actually we're not worshiping the idol. The idol is a means of focus. You know like you get a magnifying glass, you want to focus the rays of the sun and it can burn

something, right? It focuses.

So the idol becomes like a focus for us. God becomes concentrated inside of the idol at the time of our worship.

The Reality of Idol Worship

So we're worshiping God who's concentrated, focused inside of the idol, not the idol itself. So it's philosophies that develop. But of course when you ask them, okay, so if the idol drops and breaks off its head, can you continue worshiping the rest of the idol?

No, no, no, we got to go buy another one. But why? Why does it matter? If he's being focused, does he have to have a head? I mean could we make the computer instead to focus and worship our computer?

No, no, no, no, no. It has to look like this. You're worshiping idols, man. Don't tell us the stories. You're not worshiping God concentrated in the idol. You're worshiping the idol. That's proof of it.

So for them, God has lost his uniqueness. The Hindu who worships his idol, he has a set of rituals around the idol called puja. He rings a bell in the morning to wake up the idol. He takes the idol out, gives him a bath, puts food in front of him, then he worships him.

You say, what is this? People can sink to that level. Where God has lost his uniqueness, he is a part and parcel of his creation.

The Uniqueness of Allah

So this message قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ It destroys all of that misconception of who God is. The true God is uniquely one.

"Allah is Self-Sufficient."

He has no need. You don't need to ring the bell to wake him up in the morning. He doesn't fall asleep. Okay? He has no need. Everything is dependent on Him. He doesn't depend on anything else.

So we know that He is not a part of this world and this creation. Those who deny His existence say that there is no beginning. The world has no beginning.

That this world, if you look at all of the events which take place in the world and you illustrate it by dominoes. You set up the dominoes like this in a big long line. Each thing causing something else. When the domino falls, it hits the next domino, knocks over the next domino and so on, so on, so on. Okay.

Has no beginning, meaning that there was no one to push the first domino. Again, is that logical? If there is no one to push the first domino, then how is the domino going to fall? It won't fall. That's the reality.

So the very fact that we exist now is proof that someone started that whole process going. Who wasn't a domino? Because if he was a domino like every other domino, then he would need somebody to push him who wasn't a domino. Who is unique. Not like the rest of the dominoes.

"He doesn't give birth."

These are animal functions. Giving birth, having a son, having a daughter. Greek and Roman beliefs, their belief system, God has a wife, He has brothers and sisters and kids, He has the whole family. This is making God like us. Not unique anymore.

"Nor was He born."

There was no time that God didn't exist. Because if God didn't exist, nothing would exist. So Allah is truly unique. This is the essential message that the Prophet ﷺ brought. That is the essence of tawheed. The uniqueness of Allah.

"And there is nothing similar to Him."

Is just repeating what was said in the beginning.

Conveying the Message

"Convey from me, even if it is only a verse."

All of us can convey that message. Anybody that we speak to around us, they have problems in these areas. And this is the answer. Surah Al-Ikhlas is the answer for the misguidance of the world today.

It was the answer 1,400 years ago. It remains the answer today. It was the answer from the very beginning. The essence of that message was taught by Adam. To protect people from falling into the states that they are falling into now.

The Moral Message of Islam

That message, while on one hand, providing a philosophical, intellectual foundation to understanding God. At the same time, that message was to be translated into a life-governing principle.

What is that life-governing principle? How is tawheed manifest in our day-to-day lives? This is the question. How did tawheed manifest itself in the first generation and change them? And made them the carriers of this message to the world, the changers of this world.

Well, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had summed up the message of Islam saying:

(Musnad Ahmad)

"I was only sent to perfect for you the highest of moral character traits."

That the essence of the message of tawheed is a moral message. It's not a technological message. We don't have technology that the world needs to come to us. We don't have. In the past we had.

When we were in Spain and Baghdad, we were the leaders of science. While Europe was in the dark ages, we were in the age of enlightenment. They got the light by coming to our centers and took it back and the renaissance began.

The rebirth for them. But that was coincidental. What was important was that essential moral message which lies at the base of the tawheedic message of Islam.

The Three Moral Relationships

That we should have a correct moral relationship with God, with Allah. A correct moral relationship with our fellow human beings. And the correct moral relationship with the world in which we exist, which Allah has created for our benefit.

A message, a moral message, which remains unique today. This is what we have. This is what we have to offer the world.

As I said, it's not technology. We don't have technology to offer the world today. But what we have to offer to Canada is the moral message of Islam.

A message which has not changed in 1400 years. Because it is based on revelation. It is a solid, rock solid message of morality.

The Instability of Democratic Morality

The rest of the world, changing morals. The big debate in the US today is gay marriage. Obama has thrown his weight behind those in favor of gay marriages.

There is opposition. Mainly from the religious element. Islam, there is no room for discussion on this matter. There is no changing of views. The Islamic moral message remains unchanged.

For everybody else, it is a question of democratic morality. Democratic morality means what we think is good today can be bad tomorrow. And what we thought was bad today can be good tomorrow. That is democratic morality.

Because as long as the majority of the people feel this is okay, then it's okay. And people change. People change.

You go back to the 60s. Go back to the 60s. This is 40 years ago. 50 years ago. Back in the 60s. If you ask the average American or Canadian, what do you think about homosexuality?

What do you think they're going to say then? They're going to say this is bad, this is nasty, it's whatever. Some might even quote the Bible. It's an abomination unto the Lord. You know. That was clear.

Those who felt otherwise, who lived that lifestyle, they had to hide in the closets. They didn't bring that out in the open.

But by the 70s, if you ask the average American or Canadian, what is your view on this? They say alternative lifestyles. Different strokes for different folks. Complete change.

Back in the 60s, it was listed in the psychiatrist's Bible as a sickness. There was drug treatments, electrical treatments, all kinds of treatments for this. By the 70s, it was removed.

And it was replaced with homophobia. Those people who dislike, feel sick about homosexuality. Now they are sick. They need to go and be on the couch of the psychiatrist to be reprogrammed so that he or she can function properly in society.

How did that happen?

The Example of Changing Morals

When I was in high school in Canada, in Toronto, there was a book on the market, which from the 50s when it first came out, a book called Catcher in the Rye. This book was declared pornographic. Bad. Sick. Not for public consumption.

When it first came out, back in the 50s. By the 70s, it became required reading for every high school student in Ontario. Boom! How did that happen? How did that happen?

This is morals flipping upside down. And so on and so forth. There is no end to this.

So what Islam has to offer is stability. A stable set of moral principles which we uphold, which have to do with family. The building block of society. Protect the family.

Children respecting parents. Parents looking after children. An extended family. Everybody is involved. A solid foundation for society.

Today, the society around us, the family has disintegrated. A family can consist of two fathers. There is a book available in the US today, which they are using in grades 2 and 3. It's called, My Two Dads.

It tells the story about Tom and John. Johnny, he has a dad and a mom, but Tommy has two dads. And Tommy's two dads really takes care of him. Takes him to the beach, takes him to the playground, takes him all over the place.

Has a great time with his two dads. And of course, could be two moms. And so on and so forth.

The Breakdown of the Family

Single parent families considered a family unit. So the family is breaking down. Children despise their parents.

As soon as they get old enough, they blame their parents for everything. Everything that went wrong in their lives is your fault. When the parents get too old, they can't take care of themselves, throw them in an old people's home, where they'll be abused.

What can we expect from that society? Where the children hate their parents.

In Islam, the moral principle:

"We're not even as Muslims allowed to say, 'Uff!' to our parents."

Our parents say, Can you do this? Uff! We're not even allowed to say that. Not allowed. Forbidden. That's a whole different perspective.

The Foundation We Must Build

So Islam, that message which changed the world was one which on one hand gave a clear picture of who God

was. So we wouldn't be confused between the true God who is not like His creation or a part of His creation.

And at the same time, it gave us a moral foundation for human existence. How we relate to that God, which is worshiping Him. How we relate to other human beings, which is social, controlled relationships based on the laws of the one God.

And how we deal with the world around us, morally looking after it, taking benefit from it, and not abusing it.

And this message, in terms of today, we have to be clear on ourselves and we have to raise our children on this message systematically from the earliest of ages till the time that they leave our homes.

Raising Our Children with Taqwa

That this message should be translated into moral behavior. We relate everything that we teach our children back to God. You do this, not because I said you should do it, but because this is what is pleasing to Allah.

You don't do this, not because I'm gonna get upset and maybe I might beat you or do something else to you, but you don't do it because it is displeasing to God. Or it will upset me also, but it's displeasing to God.

We raise the children with that consciousness of right and wrong being based on what is pleasing to God and what is displeasing to God.

So if we raise them with that kind of consciousness, then even when we're not around, they will be guided. That is the basis of taqwa. That is the essence, that consciousness, ihsan, where we feel that Allah is watching us and we are obliged to do what is right, regardless of the circumstances.

That's what we want from them. And it's very important because it is also very easy for us to raise our children focusing on Islamic rituals instead of that essential message of taqwa.

Beyond Ritual Practice

Because from the very beginning, if you think about it, the little child, when we get up to pray and they reach about the age of three or so, then they may get up and stand beside us and they're praying.

We say, ah, mashallah. We like it. It's nice. Everybody will clap. Look at so and so. And of course the little kid, boy or girl, they will see that when they do this, it makes people pleased.

So they will get up on their own even when you're not standing there. They'll get up and... And you say, ah, mashallah. Look at her. Look at him. Mashallah. Something really touches the heart.

You feel really great about it. So the kid learns this. Whenever I do this, they're pleased. They're happy. Maybe they'll give me something. So they'll come and do it from time to time.

So what are we teaching them here? Actually, it's riyah. Riyah. Minor shirk. This is what we're teaching them.

Okay. There's an age when you can't explain to them Allah and fear and all these other things.

But once they get past that age when their mind has not come together enough to understand Allah and that, once they get to that point, then we have to correct it. We have to bring them in line with the real teachings of Islam.

Because otherwise they will continue like this. They will do whenever they want to please you. They will do it. They'll put the cap on their head. The little girl will wear the scarf, hijab, etc.

But then when they reach that age, they're in the public schools. They're under pressure from their peers, etc. Then they'll take the cap off their head, put it in the pocket. The little girl will take the hijab off. So they'll just be Muslim when they're around you.

And once they step out the door, Islam is in their back pockets. That is the big danger.

The Foundation of Consciousness

We have to be careful that we raise them with that consciousness. Because that is going to protect them through life. Without that consciousness, then they are spiritually challenged. We have not given them the foundation to be able to successfully find their way through life.

So they're going to fall. The pressure of the world around them is too great. They will go astray. And that's what's happening today. Children turning away from Islam in large numbers by the influence of the society around them. And the lack of that tawhidic message within the home.

Established on principles, not merely words or traditions, but on clear principles which are understandable, which they can understand, they can comprehend, they can internalize.

Without that, we can only pray that Allah will guide them through these trying times. So, that message. That message needs to be reinterpreted through the pillars of Islam and the pillars of Iman. These are the basic principles of Islam.

The Moral Dimension of Salah

So each pillar should be interpreted from a moral perspective. How does that pillar translate itself morally in our lives. And you'll find in the Quran, you will find in the sunnah, clarification as to what the moral message is. It's there.

When you hear Allah speaking about salah, He says:

"Salah prevents evil speech and evil deeds."

These are moral principles. Evil speech.

Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6018)

"Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, let him speak good or be silent."

Evil speech. Be careful of what comes out of our mouths. We are morally responsible to speak good or best be silent.

So, the pillars of Islam have to be translated that way. It can't be just the movements.

Beyond "Monkey Salah"

We teach them what may be called monkey salah. Monkey salah is, you mean you can take a monkey, chimpanzee and teach him. He'll do these things.

But what impact does it have on him? None. Has no meaning. It's just actions he's doing.

So we have to go beyond that because this is what we've been raised with. Most of us have been asked, well, what did my parents tell me about salah? Do it. That's what they told us.

You know, you're Muslim, you do it. That's all. Why? Do it. Don't ask me why. Why? Why can't I ask you why? Because I'm not really sure myself. Just do it.

You know, we Muslims, we do it. That's where we are. And our parents, they didn't get it from their parents. Their parents didn't get it. We just now inherited a tradition of do it. Just do it.

But in the old days, when we're in a society where everybody else was doing it, then you just continue to do it. You conformed.

And the dangerous thing about that is that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had said, some people will do the deeds of the people of paradise as it appears to everyone. They're doing it. But they will be from the people of hell. This is in Sahih Muslim.

People will do the deeds of the people of paradise. Praying is among the things. When the man asked, what will carry me to paradise? Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, you know, do the five pillars of Islam. Pray five times a day. So on, so on, so on. It will carry you to paradise.

So these are the deeds of the people of paradise. Praying five times a day. But if praying five times a day meant only going through the movements, the motions, then no, rituals will not take anyone to paradise.

Because Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had said:

(Sahih Muslim 111)

"No one will enter paradise except a true believer."

That's the reality.

The Need for Knowledge

So, if we are to inherit that legacy which Prophet Muhammad ﷺ left for us, and to make it a means of changing our lives and the world around us, then we must understand that message. We must be clear on all of the levels of the message.

Knowledge has to precede all of this. Clear knowledge. Not tradition, custom. Well, that's the way we do it in our country, or in our town, or in our region.

That's not what Islam is. Islam is what Prophet Muhammad ﷺ brought, and what he taught, and what his companions learned and conveyed. That is Islam.

We have to go back to that. If we are to change this world, change our own personal worlds, we have to go back to that. That is what changed the first generation, and nothing short of that will change this generation.

Closing Dua

So I ask Allah to give us His blessing, His grace, His tawfiq, to learn that message. As Prophet Muhammad ﷺ brought it, to internalize it, make it a part of our lives, and to convey it to those around us, beginning with our own families, our children, our wives, our husbands, the immediate family, and to those around us, our neighbors, our friends, classmates, workmates, etc.

"Convey whatever you have learned from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ even if it is only a single verse of the Quran."

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ