Muhammad the Honest

Muhammad the Honest (Al-Ameen)

People who have problems not only with earning a living for themselves and therefore fall sometimes on hard times and have to seek welfare solutions in this society, so we need to have people who are able to steer them in the right direction to help them. Our community center has chosen to say that its vision, its mission is to create institutions in which people can practice Islam as Muslims and to set an example and then from there to branch out and invite people to join in and to become Muslims along with us. We need deeds.

The Aircraft Carrier Analogy: Self-Sufficiency in a Sea of Jahiliyyah

We need to see ourselves the way you would see an aircraft carrier sits in an ocean of Jahiliyya. An aircraft carrier has everything that's needed to sustain a group of people for several months. It's like a floating city. It has doctors. It has lawyers. It has recreational directors. It has nurses. It has pharmacists. It has hospitals there. They have police there. They have firemen there. They have engineers there. They have computer technicians there and we need to have all those things as well because we are in effect in a sea of Jahiliyya floating on the strength of Islam and we like an aircraft carrier have to send out into society sorties they call them. Send out messages. Messages to the community in which we're living. Not messages of death but messages of life. Messages of the salvation that Islam offers people who will just open up their minds and accept this way of life that their Creator has chosen for them.

Beyond Professionalism: The Necessity of Sincerity

But there are many other communities that have professions. There are doctors in Saudi Arabia. There are engineers in Pakistan. There are teachers in Malaysia but what do we have there that lets us believe that just having that makes a difference. We need to have people who are sincere.

There's one thing I can leave with you is this. Brothers and sisters, communities need not only professional people. They need not only people who are educated. They need people who are sincere in their hearts. People who are willing to love Allah more than they love their own families, than their own countries, than their own ethnic group or their own tribe. They have to love Allah above everything else and be willing to therefore subordinate everything else to the cause of Islam and it is only then that we can begin to see these petty differences that divide us put aside and by petty differences I mean they are numerous.

Overcoming Divisions Within the Muslim Community

I head one of the largest organizations in Chicago. It is perhaps 90% Indian Pakistani and maybe 8% Arab and the rest are Americans. Very few Americans are in that organization but there I've run across so many petty differences that divide one person from another. So many times people are unwilling to forgive when they can

certainly read about it. They make Salat in line with someone then they get up from Salat and still refuse to forgive brothers for saying something or doing something that harmed them. It's a very difficult challenge but it's a challenge that we have to accept.

Demonstrating the Superiority of Islam

If we are going to save this society, if we're going to invite people to this society, then we have to be prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to demonstrate the superiority of Islam over other ways of life and that demonstration comes only when Islam can penetrate our own hearts. Don't assume because you were raised in a Muslim home that you are therefore a good Muslim. The home that you were raised in is not a place that you chose for yourself. The home that you were raised in is where Allah placed you but Allah will not question you about your home. You have to purify your heart. You have to accept the personal challenge.

It is just like going on Hajj where Allah said when you go on Hajj the best provision for you to take is righteousness. It's Taqwa and we all have to be aware of it.

"You are the best nation produced for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah."

Four Key Points for Our Muslim Community

They've asked me to close and so I won't take up much time. I wanted to impress upon you the importance of realizing a couple of things which I'll summarize. One, that the day of judgment is in front of us every day. Two, that we are living in an environment which is decaying from the inside. The logic of the society is decaying. You see there are no provisions in this society for the moral rights that we espouse to survive. Three, we are seeing that increasing numbers of Muslims are here, are present here and that we have to now develop strategies to survive and to encourage other people for those who wish to save themselves to do the same thing. Four, in order for us to do that we have to have people who are dedicated and who are sincere. People who are willing to get involved. People who are willing to use the talents that Allah has given them to apply them to establish Islamic institutions and to spread this message to all mankind.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.

Introduction: Muhammad the Messenger and the Message

Dear brothers and sisters, every year ICNA has a theme of its conventions. This year we have a theme, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the messenger and the message. And inshallah our next speaker, brother Hamza Yusuf Hanson, he will inshallah speak on Muhammad al-Amin, the honest, (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

"I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful."

And peace and blessings be upon the honored prophets and messengers. And upon his pure and good people, and upon those who follow them with good till the Day of Judgment.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.

The Best of Creation

To speak about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is to speak about the best of creation. Imam Al-Busairi mentioned that وَمَبْلَغُ الْعِلْمِ فِيهِ أَنَّهُ بَشَرٌ - the extent of our knowledge about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is that he is a human being. But of all human beings, he is the greatest of them.

And I'm reminded of the words of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in describing, in praising his Lord:

"O Allah, we are unable to praise You as You have praised Yourself."

And in the same way, we as Muslims are unable to praise the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as he has praised himself in his character. Not by his words, but in his character. In the same way that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has praised himself through his creation, in creating this awesome universe, and his world, and his mercy, and his attributes, and made this the place of the manifestation of Allah's attributes. That this is the greatest statement of praise to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And like that, the greatest statement of praise for the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is his character, it is his life itself. It is what he accomplished in his lifetime. It was the task that he was given.

The Meaning of Muhammad's Names

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)'s name is Muhammad. And Muhammad is a name that means the one worthy of much praise, the praiseworthy. His name in the heavens is Ahmad, which is also the most praised.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when he said in the Qur'an:

"Haven't we expanded your breast?"

The Prophet's breast was expanded.

"And We have raised up your remembrance, your dhikr."

The Mufassirun say that this means that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is mentioned with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When we say the shahada, we say:

"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

And this shahada is spoken all over the world. This statement, this witnessing is spoken all over the world. So the best of creation, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is mentioned with the Lord of creation all over the world during these various times of the day that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has inspired His slave to make mention of Him.

Al-Ameen: The Trustworthy One

When we talk about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), we talk about Al-Ameen. And Al-Ameen is a word which means the trustworthy. And it can have two meanings in the Arabic language because it's on the template of Fa'eel, which is an active and a passive sense. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is active and passive in his trustworthiness. He is active in the sense that nothing manifests from him except that it is trustworthy.

And this is why we call him Al-Sadiq. He is the truthful one, the honest one. And it is passive in the sense that he is the source itself of trustworthiness. And anything that emanates from him, we believe. And therefore he is Al-Masduq, as he was described in the Sahih Hadith قَالَ الصَّادِقُ الْمَصْدُوقُ - The truthful, the one that is believed.

The Name Given in Jahiliyyah

And so Al-Ameen is the name that was given to him in Jahiliyyah. And when the brother was describing this country and the state that it's in, I was only reminded of the state of the Jahiliyyah people, the people before Islam. And the Qur'an talks about Al-Jahiliyyah Al-Ula, the first Jahiliyyah.

And Umar radiAllahu anhu asked Ibn Abbas, about the nature of this Jahiliyyah Al-Ula: Is there one after it? And Ibn Abbas said, have you ever seen a first that didn't have a last? So we have entered into the new Jahiliyyah. We have entered into the Jahiliyyah of this century, which in many ways is compounded and more complex than the Jahiliyyah of those that were worshipping idols on the Arabian Peninsula when the Arabian Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) came to them.

Allah's Gift to the Believers

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Allah has certainly bestowed a great favor upon the believers."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given his gift, it is a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ to these Mu'mineen, he sent his messenger in them:

"When he sent his messenger in them."

And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"From their own selves."

"Reciting to them His ayat, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom, even if they had been before that in manifest error."

Islam as a Gift from Allah

So this is a gift from Allah. I do not grace Islam by my acceptance of the deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah has graced me by blessing me with Islam. This is the gift of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to His creation.

And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was commanded to tell them:

"Don't you start telling me what a gift you have given me by your becoming a Muslim. Rather, Allah is the gift giver that He has guided you to iman."

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was the bringer of this hidayah, this guidance to creation. And he is trustworthy in that gift that he brought.

The Prophet as Ameen and Obeyed in the Heavens

That is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that it is a gift that he was sent to the creation because he is ameen:

"He is obeyed there (in the heavens) and he is ameen."

"This man is not crazy. This man is not insane. This man is not a kadhaab, a liar."

This man is the trustworthy. He is the one that was never known to tell a lie before Islam. Before his gift of nubuwwah from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he was known never to break an oath or a trust.

A Story of the Prophet's Trustworthiness Before Prophethood

It is related in the book of al-Tirmidhi radiAllahu anhu that a man named Abdullah ibn Abi al-Hamsa who was a man who embraced Islam but in the Jahiliyyah times he said:

"I sold something to the Prophet of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam before he was sent as a messenger."

And he said that there was something that remained so he told him that he would return the next day to give it to him in that place where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was staying. And the man said that after a few days he forgot about this and after three days he remembered. He remembered that he had made a promise with the Prophet of Allah. This is before he is a prophet. This is before he was given the gift of risalah. And he went back to the Prophet's place and he found him there, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to him:

"You've given me a difficult time. I haven't left this place for three days."

This is his amanah with people.

The Amanah: The Trust Offered to Creation

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"We have given this, we have shown this amanah to the heavens and the earth. And the heavens and the earth and the mountains, these are the great creations of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala."

"Are you a greater creation? Or is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's heavens a greater creation than you?"

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us that this ard, that he gave to the heavens and the earth and the mountains was the amanah. This is what was shown to them, the amanah.

فَأَبَيْنَ

"They refused."

Now this abayna is bir ikhtiyar. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not tell them to take the amanah. This was an ard. And they refused to take it.

وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا

"And they found it a grievous thing to even consider taking this amanah."

وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ

"And the human being took on this amanah and carried this amanah."

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that:

"The human being took on this amanah and human being, insan is human being in the Arabic language, took on this amanah and he was ignorant in it and oppressive to his own self."

This amanah is the amanah of the shariah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the shariah itself is the path or the road to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is the way that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given the human being.

The Incident of Placing the Black Stone

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam who is al-ameen and was known for this before he becomes a prophet. In the town of Mecca when they were arguing about who should place the stone, the black stone when they had rebuilt the Kaaba. And they almost came to battle about it and finally they agreed that they should accept the first man that comes through into the masjid and there comes the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam at the age of 35, five years before the revelation would begin. And they said:

"We are content with the ameen. We are content with the ameen."

Now they were content with the ameen before he came to them with the truth. They were content with his akhlaaq, with his character. One of the things that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not do was he did not speak out against their idols and things like that. He did not have this taqlid. He knew they were wrong but he did not have the Qur'an from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

"Say that this is my way. I call to Allah ala basira, with a burhan, with a proof, with an inner sight."

This only comes from the revelation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So he did not call them until the message comes. So when he came in and then he told them each to take a handle of a cloth and he put the stone in the cloth and brought it to the place and then he himself with his noble hands placed that stone into the Ka'bah. And this is by the power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and by the tawfeeq of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Abu Jahl's Testimony to the Prophet's Truthfulness

Abu Jahl knew that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was not a liar. When one of them came to him at the battle of Badr and he said:

"I'm asking you by Allah, you believe that he's lying?"

And he said:

"By Allah, he's not a liar."

The Bedouin's Recognition

When the Arabi came into the presence of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and came out and they asked the Arabi, a Bedouin man, what do you say about this man? He said:

"By Allah, his face is not the face of a liar."

This is called firasah of seeing with perception, sagacity. And this man recognized this was a truthful man. This is the companion of Abu Bakr Siddiq from the beginning of his childhood. And so this was the Prophet's nature.

The Jewish Community and the Coming of the Last Prophet

At that time on the Arabian Peninsula with all the darknesses that they were in, there was a community of Jewish people in Yathrib. They knew in Khaybar and Yathrib that the last messenger would come to this place. They knew that from their own books. They knew that. They knew that he would come. And they had the descriptions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in their book. And so they went to these places and they were living there waiting for the last messenger.

Abdullah ibn Salam's Conversion

And when he came, a handful of them accepted him. Abdullah ibn Salam who has great mawaqif. He has great positions. He dies defending the house of Uthman and the Khawarij stone him on the roof of the house of Uthman. He was a rabbinical scholar. And when he became Muslim, we all know the story. And the Jewish

people came in. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, what do you say about Abdullah ibn Salam?

They said, the learned of us, the son of the learned of us. And when he came out and said:

They said, the ignoble of us, the son of the ignoble of us. Vile, the son of the vile.

Other Seekers of Truth

So there were people there, there were communities. Salman al-Farisi knew that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was coming because a Christian monk had told him, we know the story of Bahira.

And this is al-Amin. He is not speaking, (مَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى - ma yantiqu 'anil-hawa) (Quran 53:3). He doesn't speak from his own passion. He was the trustworthy one. And he brought this message.

The Amanah Passed to the Sahaba

Now this amanah, is an amanah that went from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to his sahaba. If you look at this ayah, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ , that he recites to them their ayahs, the ayahs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the signs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ، وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ . These are the three stages of this amanah.

The Three Stages of the Amanah

The first stage is to make tabligh. This is called the stage of tabligh, marhalatul tabligh. And it is embodied in this ayah by the tilawa of the ayahs. يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ

And then from that group, that becomes Muslim, from those people, وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ . This is called tazkiyah. And this is called, the ulema call this marhalatul taqween. The marhalah whereby human beings are being moulded to become the carriers of this deen. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent this deen through human beings, not through angels, through human beings that they would carry it from each generation to generation.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"This deen will be carried in every generation by those just and upright people."

The people of amanah, the people of adalah, the people of sabr, and the people of akhlaq. These are the people that will take this deen. And these are the people that must be in a process of tazkiyah.

The Prophet's Method of Purification

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam yuzakkihim. He would purify them. If somebody was strong, he would humble them. If somebody was weak, he would strengthen them. If somebody was high, he would lower them.

If somebody was low, he would raise them. If somebody was wealthy, he would encourage him to give out. If somebody was poor, he would encourage him to find that way of bringing up his self-esteem so that he can live in a society with his human dignity intact. If the women were oppressed, he raised them up. If the men were oppressed, he raised them up. If people were oppressing, he brought them down. They met in a middle place. This is the teaching of al-Amin. This is the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And this is what he did with people.

The Promise of Dominion Through La ilaha illallah

And because of that, the world became theirs. كَلِمَةٌ إِذَا قُلْتُمُوهَا تَمْلِكُونَ بِهَا الْعَرَبَ وَتَدِينُ لَكُمُ الْعَجَمُ - This is a word I'm bringing you. He told his ashira. He told his tribe. This is a word I'm bringing you. That if you speak it, you will have dominion over the Arabs by this word لا إلهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ And the ajam, the non-Arab, will become subjects to you. They will become subjects of yours.

The Historical Spread of Islam

And this is the proof, the historical proof that we saw within a hundred years, Islam spread to the known corners of the earth. And this teaching, this illumination, illuminate masjids that become universities, centers of learning. People where there was no scholarship become scholars. Look at the people of Khorasan. Look at the people of Tarim. Look at the people of Iraq. Look at the people of Egypt, the people of Tunisia, the people of Mauritanian desert, Bedouins, eaters of lizards. And they become great scholars and makers of men.

Reality is Truth, Not Things

The word in Latin for reality means thing, res. The word in Arabic for reality is haqiqa, it's truth. This is truth. Reality are not things, not commodities that these people produce in every age, in every time. Whether idols of wood to be worshipped, or whether machines to be worshipped.

"Do you worship what you're making with your hand? And Allah has created you and now what you're doing?"

The Mission of the Ummah

This is the reality of the Roman people, is res, is thing, things. This is what they worship. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent this ummah as Amr ibn al-As, that great sahabi, when he entered into, everyone knows these stories, entered into Kisra. And he said to him, what are you bringing to us? And he said, we were sent to take people out of the worship of things, of things, to the worship of the creator of things, to take them out of res, out of this reality, which is delusion.

"Don't be deluded by the deluder that tells you that this world is real."

This is shaitan. Don't be deluded by this one, that has sworn that he will take all of Dhani Adam astray.

"Except the sincere ones."

Our Amanah: Carrying the Deen

We have an amanah in our necks. This amanah is the amanah of this deen. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us this amanah. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was ameen.

"That you should take this amanah to its people."

The amanah is the deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gave it out. He gave it to the people of his time. And he commanded us to take it in each generation to the people who haven't heard this message. This is an amanah in our necks. And we have fallen short. And I speak of myself and all my brothers and sisters. We have fallen short of this amanah.

The Sign of Hypocrisy: Breaking Trust

If we are Muslims, we are people of amanah. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said the sign of the munafiq is three things. And from them:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 33, Sahih Muslim 59)

"When he's given a trust, he's treacherous. He breaks it."

We have been given a trust. If we fail to embark and set out on taking that trust to its people, those are the ones who have not heard this message, then we have been treacherous:

اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ

"We have been treacherous to the teaching of Allah and His Messenger."

And this is a sign of nifaq in our own hearts. And so we have to break the shackles of nifaq.

Breaking the Knots of Shaitan

In the morning, when we get up, if we just say (بِسْمِ الله - bismillah) or (سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ - subhanAllah) or any of these dua, the knot of shaitan gets broken from the neck of the son of Adam. If then he makes wudu, the second knot, and when he prays, the third knot, and he's freed from shaitan. We are all with the shaitan's knots on our necks in this age. The Muslims are carrying around the shaitan's knots because we've been asleep for a long, long time.

The Trust of Khilafah

And we have allowed people to surpass us who are not worthy of the amanah of khilafah. The amanah of khilafah. And it is not by race. It is not by color. It is not by gender. It's not by any of these things. It's by knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the khilafah.

"I am placing in the earth a khalifa."

That is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said.

"He taught Adam al-asma, the nature of things, the nature of reality to perceive, the musammayat, the qualities."

And so this is the amanah that we have.

Following the Messenger as Proof of Love

And if we are to follow the messenger and the sign of our love of Allah is what?

"Say, if you say that you love Allah, then follow me."

The love of the messenger of Allah is the love of Allah.

"The one that obeys the messenger has obeyed Allah."

This is the love of Allah. It's in following the messenger. That is how love of Allah manifests in our lives. And if that love is not there, then we fall short.

Taking on the Amanah of Al-Ameen

Where are we? Where are we? So let us take on this amanah of al-ameen, of the trustworthy one that left us this. Let us take on this amanah that we took the oath with Allah to carry it. Let us take this deen to those who haven't heard it. But let us begin with our own homes. Let us make our homes Darul Islam. If our homes are not Darul Islam, then what are we going to call people to?

فَاقِدُ الشَّيْءِ لَا يُعْطِيهِ

"Someone that has nothing cannot give anything."

If we are people of Islam, then let us be people of Islam. If we are people of sleep, then let us continue sleeping.

But I say we are not. We are people of Islam. And Islam is waking up.

النَّاسُ نِيَامٌ، فَإِذَا مَاتُوا انْتَبَهُوا

"People are asleep, and when they die, they wake up."

Taking Account of Ourselves Before We Die

In the hadith of Sahih Muslim, I've got my two-minute sign right here. When they die, I'm not being rude and so on. When they die, when people die, they wake up. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2459)

"Take account of yourselves before you are taken to account."

Be people of Yawm al-Hisab before you die. Be people of Qiyamah today. Let us take ourselves into account.

"Be shuhada over humanity."

But first:

"Even if it's upon your own self."

So let us look, each one of us at our own situation. What we can change, what we can rectify, what we need to do to become people of this grave amanah, this amanah.

Our Responsibility to Act

And as we watch these people destroy the earth, sit by, what are we going to say on Yawm al-Qiyamah to our Lord? What are we going to say? When Allah says, are we going to say:

"We were weak in the earth."

And the angels reply: Was not Allah's earth vast, that you might emigrate therein? In other words, did you exhaust all of the possibilities? Did you exhaust all of the alternatives? Did you do these things? This is what we have to ask ourselves.

Closing Words

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

"I say these words and seek forgiveness from Allah for me and for you and for all the Muslims."

And myself, because we were on a flight all night last night, and the only reason I do that is because if you find any faults, take that into consideration. And the other thing, I wondered why you chose this place, Bloomsburg. Is it Bloomsburg? Bloomsburg? And then we understood when we came in. It's the only town in Pennsylvania, so it's easy to find.